Chapter 6 - The Glass Room
The interrogation facility at the Federal District Courthouse was entirely made of soundproof glass, stainless steel, and harsh fluorescent lighting.
My parents and sister were brought in separately, stripped of their designer jewelry, smartphones, and luxury coats, and forced into scratchy gray holding jumpsuits. They sat around a metal table in the center of the glass room, looking completely disoriented, terrified, and humiliated.
My mother was weeping quietly, her manicured nails digging into her palms. "This is a mistake. It has to be a mistake. Maya can't be a military commander. She was always the quiet one... the failure..."
"Shut up, Barbara!" my father snapped, though his own hands were trembling violently as he stared at the steel cuffs around his wrists. "We just need our lawyer. Once Arthur gets here, he'll file an emergency injunction and clear this whole misunderstanding up."
The heavy metal door of the glass room slid open with a loud mechanical hiss.
Two armed federal guards stepped inside, followed by Director Marcus Vance and a female prosecutor carrying three heavy black leather binders.
"Where is our attorney?" my father demanded immediately, trying to sit up straight and regain his corporate authority. "We have been held here for four hours without legal counsel! This is a gross violation of our constitutional rights!"
Director Vance walked over to the table, pulled out a metal chair, and sat down calmly, placing his hands flat on the steel surface.
"Your personal attorney, Arthur Vance, was arrested two hours ago," Vance said in a flat, even tone. "Turns out, when federal auditors swept your family's financial accounts following your arrest, they uncovered three million dollars in illegal off-shore wire transfers and systematic tax evasion managed by your firm."
My father's jaw dropped. His eyes widened in sheer terror. "What?"
"Furthermore," the female prosecutor stepped forward, opening the first black binder, "Senator Vance's office issued a formal public press release thirty minutes ago. He has officially canceled the wedding, severed all personal and financial ties with the Sterling family, and publicly condemned your actions regarding Commander Maya Sterling."
"No..." Jessica gasped, dropping her head onto the cold table, sobbing hysterically. "No! No! Stephen loves me! He wouldn't do this! My wedding... my life is ruined!"
"Your wedding was paid for with money you stole from your sister's military disability trust fund," Director Vance revealed coldly, throwing a thick stack of bank statements onto the table.
My mother looked up, horrified. "What?"
"Four years ago," Vance explained, pointing his finger at my father, "when Maya was deployed overseas and named you as her temporary power of attorney for her combat hazard pay, you quietly diverted four hundred thousand dollars of her classified service compensation into your personal commercial accounts to fund your failing business and pay for Jessica's private university tuition."
My father went deathly pale. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even look Vance in the eye.
"You didn't just abandon your daughter in an ER hallway because you were arrogant, Mr. Sterling," Vance said, leaning forward until he was inches from my father's face. "You left her to die because you knew that if she died of 'accidental internal complications,' her multi-million-dollar government life insurance policy would pay out directly to you—and no one would ever audit the accounts you stole from her."
The room went completely dead silent.
My mother slowly turned her head to look at my father, her eyes wide with horrified realization. "William... is that true? Is that why you signed that paper?"
My father swallowed hard, sweat dripping off his nose onto the metal table, but he couldn't form a single word.
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"You're a monster," my mother whispered, backing her chair away from him in terror.
"You're all monsters," Director Vance corrected her coldly, standing up from his chair. "And you're all going to federal prison for a very, very long time."
