Chapter 7 - The Interrogation
I was dragged into a windowless interrogation room at the federal building in downtown Minneapolis.
My wrists ached from the tight steel handcuffs, and I still smelled strongly of toxic smoke.
The lead FBI agent, a tall, imposing man named Harrison, sat across the metal table and stared at me.
"You really thought you could transfer nearly a billion dollars to a known cartel account without us noticing?" Harrison asked, his voice dripping with disgust.
"I did not transfer real money, Agent Harrison," I replied, forcing myself to remain perfectly calm.
"I triggered a duress protocol built into my private wealth management system."
Harrison slammed a thick stack of printed financial documents onto the table.
"These documents clearly show your digital signature authorizing the initial fifty million dollar cartel payment this morning."
I realized with absolute horror just how meticulously Arthur had framed me for his crimes.
He had used Victoria's black card access to perfectly mimic my digital authorization footprint.
"My ex-husband and my sister orchestrated this entire fraud, and they tried to burn me alive to cover their tracks," I pleaded.
Harrison scoffed and leaned back in his squeaky metal chair.
"Arthur Vance reported you to our field office an hour ago."
"He claimed you held him at gunpoint and forced him to watch as you emptied the family trust."
The sheer audacity of Arthur's lies left me momentarily speechless.
"I want to make my legally mandated phone call right now," I demanded with absolute authority.
Harrison smiled coldly and slid a battered landline telephone across the metal table.
"Go ahead, Clara, call your lawyer."
"Let's see if he can explain why you are currently the primary suspect in an international terrorism investigation."
I did not dial the number of a criminal defense attorney.
Instead, I dialed a secure, unlisted number that Elias Thorne had made me memorize five years ago.
The line rang twice before a deep, heavily distorted voice answered.
"State your authorization phrase," the mysterious voice demanded.
"The winter garden is completely flooded," I whispered into the receiver.
A long, heavy silence filled the line, making my heart race with anticipation.
"Authentication confirmed, Ms. Vance," the voice finally replied.
"The Icarus Protocol is now fully active."
The phone line went instantly dead, leaving a dial tone echoing in the quiet interrogation room.
Agent Harrison laughed and reached across the table to pull the phone away from me.
Before his hand could even touch the plastic receiver, his cell phone began vibrating violently in his pocket.
He answered the call with an annoyed sigh, but his confident expression quickly vanished.
All the color drained completely from his face as he listened to his commanding officer on the other end.
May you like
Harrison slowly lowered his phone and stared at me as if I had just performed a terrifying magic trick.
"Every single bank account belonging to Arthur and Mia Vance was just permanently seized by the Department of the Treasury," Harrison whispered.
