Chapter 5 - The Legal Serpent
I stared at Sterling, the man who had mentored me for ten years.
"You are involved in this?" I asked, my voice trembling with betrayal.
"Your property sits right in the middle of a commercial zoning project worth fifty million dollars," Sterling explained calmly.
"Your mother approached me with the refinancing scheme, and I simply facilitated the paperwork."
"You are destroying my family for a real estate deal!" I yelled.
"It is strictly business, Mateo," he replied, straightening his expensive tie.
"If you sign this confession admitting to domestic abuse, I will make sure you get a light sentence."
He slid a pre-written document across the metal table.
"And if I refuse?" I spat.
"Then Lucía will tragically pass away in the hospital tonight, and you will be charged with double homicide," Sterling threatened softly.
My heart stopped completely.
They were planning to finish the job in the hospital while I was locked away.
I needed to get out of this precinct immediately, no matter the cost.
"I want to make a phone call," I demanded, relying on my legal rights.
Sterling laughed and handed me his personal cell phone.
"Who are you going to call? You have no one left," he mocked.
I dialed the number of Marcus, an old law school rival who now worked as a federal prosecutor.
Marcus and I hated each other, but I knew he absolutely despised corrupt corporate lawyers like Sterling.
"Marcus, it is Mateo," I said quickly when he answered.
"I have evidence of a fifty-million-dollar real estate fraud involving Sterling, and I need a federal favor right now."
Marcus remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"I will have a federal hold placed on you in five minutes, which supersedes local police custody."
I hung up the phone and smiled at my corrupt boss.
"You just made a huge mistake," Sterling snarled.
Fifteen minutes later, federal agents walked into the precinct and escorted me out.
Marcus was waiting in a black SUV in the alleyway.
"You better have the proof you promised," Marcus warned as I got into the vehicle.
"I will," I promised.
"But first, we need to get to the city hospital to save my wife."
Marcus sped off, but his police radio suddenly crackled with a terrifying update.
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"Dispatch, we have a code blue at the city hospital," the voice announced.
"A pregnant female patient named Lucía just went missing from the ICU."
