Chapter 6 - The Interrogation Room-6
The interrogation room at the precinct was cold, sterile, and smelled faintly of floor polish and stale coffee.
Julian sat at a metal table, handcuffed to a iron ring embedded in the center. He wore a gray jumpsuit, his hair unwashed, dark shadows hollowed out beneath his eyes. He looked broken, defeated, and utterly hollow.
When I walked in accompanied by Detective Ramirez, Julian lifted his head slowly.
"Clarissa..." he rasped, his voice raw. "You... you came."
"I came to deliver a message, Julian," I said, remaining standing across from him. I didn't sit down. I refused to lower myself to his level.
"Why are you doing this to me?" he wept, tears trailing through the grime on his cheeks. "I'm your husband! We spent fifteen years together! How can you be so cold?"
"I was not cold, Julian," I said quietly. "For fifteen years, I gave you my warmth. I gave you my loyalty. I took care of your home, I cooked your meals, I listened to your complaints, and I loved your mother like she was my own flesh and blood. And how did you repay me?"
Julian lowered his eyes, unable to look at me.
"You treated me like a servant," I continued, every word falling like a heavy stone. "You cheated on me with younger women. You spent our money on lavish trips while I was sitting by your dying mother's bedside, listening to her struggle for breath. And when I called you thirty times to give you a chance to say goodbye to the woman who gave you life, you called me a maniac and hung up."
"I didn't know she was dying!" he sobbed desperately. "I thought you were just calling to complain!"
"That is your greatest crime, Julian," I said softly. "You were so consumed by your own ego that you couldn't imagine anyone else’s pain. You thought the world existed solely to serve you."
Detective Ramirez stepped forward, setting a file folder on the table.
"Mr. Vance," Ramirez said sternly. "The State Attorney has officially filed charges against you: Attempted First-Degree Murder, Financial Fraud, Grand Larceny, and Corporate Embezzlement. Given the severity of the evidence provided by Mrs. Vance, bail has been formally denied."
Julian stared at the file, his chest heaving as panic seized him completely. "No... no! You can't leave me in here! Clarissa, please! Talk to the prosecutor! Tell them it was a mistake! I'll give you the divorce! You can have half the money! Just don't let them send me to prison!"
I leaned down slightly, looking into his terrified eyes.
"I don't want half the money, Julian," I whispered. "I already have all of it. And as for your freedom... you traded it away the moment you bought that ticket to Maui."
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I turned around and walked out of the room.
Behind me, Julian’s frantic screams echoed against the metal door, louder and more pathetic than before, but I didn't look back. I kept walking, stepping out into the crisp, clean autumn air.
