Chapter 3 - The Interrogation
The police officers did not ask questions when they stepped out of their cars.
They moved straight toward Lucas, pulled his arms behind his back, and clamped cold steel handcuffs onto his wrists.
"Lucas Bennett, you are under arrest for domestic battery and reckless endangerment," a gruff detective announced.
Lucas struggled against the grip of the three heavy officers.
"My wife is bleeding in there, you need to let me see her!" Lucas screamed.
The detective just shook his head and shoved Lucas into the back of a smelling squad car.
The drive to the precinct was a blur of neon lights and boiling, helpless rage.
They threw him into a gray interrogation room and shackled his wrist to the metal table.
An hour later, the heavy door swung open and his cousin Richard walked in carrying a shiny leather briefcase.
"You really made a mess tonight, Lucas," Richard sighed, sitting across from him.
"How much did you pay them to arrest me?" Lucas demanded, rattling the chain on the table.
Richard chuckled and pulled a tablet out of his briefcase.
He slid the screen across the table so Lucas could see it.
It was security footage from the camera in Lucas’s own living room.
The video clearly showed Lucas violently pushing Emma down the stairs.
Lucas stared at the screen, his mind struggling to process the impossible image.
"That is a deepfake," Lucas whispered, realizing the absolute scale of the setup.
"It doesn't matter what it is," Richard smiled coldly.
"It is enough for the judge to grant Margaret full custody of the child as soon as it is born."
Richard leaned forward, dropping the polite act completely.
"Sign your shares of the company over to the family trust, and the criminal charges disappear."
Lucas looked at his cousin, realizing the baby was just leverage in a billion-dollar corporate takeover.
He smiled, a dark, dangerous expression that made Richard flinch backward.
"You forgot one thing, Richard," Lucas said quietly.
Richard frowned, looking confused.
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"I built the company that manufactured the security cameras in my apartment," Lucas said.
Before Richard could react, the interrogation room door was kicked completely off its hinges.
