Chapter 14 - THE FEDERAL INTERVIEW
The interrogation room inside the federal building smelled of stale coffee and floor wax.
It was 3:00 AM. Across the metal table sat Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Vance—no relation to Julian, thankfully—alongside two senior FBI financial investigators.
They had spent the last two hours reviewing every single document, email, and metadata log I had downloaded from Rachel’s MacBook. The flash drive was a smoking gun of epic proportions. It contained not only the proof of Rachel’s deliberate forgery of my digital signature from four months ago, but also audio recordings of phone conversations between Rachel and Julian plotting how to frame me as the primary corporate scapegoat if their scheme collapsed.
A.U.S.A. Marcus Vance closed the manila folder, leaned back in his chair, and looked at me with a mixture of professional respect and deep astonishment.
“Well, Ms. Miller,” Vance said, folding his hands on the table. “I have to hand it to you. Most civilians would have panicked and run out of the state. You walked right into the lion’s den, retrieved the exact digital ledger we’ve been trying to subpoena for six months, and walked out without getting caught.”
“I have a four-year-old daughter to protect,” I replied flatly, my voice devoid of emotion. “Does this mean the federal warrant for my arrest is rescinded?”
Vance nodded slowly. “Officially, the indictment against you is being dropped with prejudice as of twenty minutes ago. You are entirely exonerated of all charges.”
A massive weight lifted off my chest, so heavy I felt like I could finally draw a full, deep breath for the first time in three days.
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“And Rachel?” I asked.
Vance offered a thin, grim smile. “Federal marshals executed an emergency arrest warrant at her downtown penthouse forty-five minutes ago. She’s currently sitting in holding, facing charges of wire fraud, identity theft, subornation of perjury, and obstruction of justice. Total exposure: twenty-five years without parole.”
