Chapter 7 - Unraveling the Web
Within twenty minutes, the living room had transformed from a stage of domestic deception into a literal crime scene.
State troopers moved methodically through the house, bagging evidence: the broken thermos, the kitchen scissors used to hack Claire's hair, the forged loan documents sitting on the dining table, and Margaret’s burner phone, which had been hidden beneath the sofa cushions.
Brittany was weeping hysterically on the sofa, clutching her expensive gold bracelet as if it were a life raft, while two female troopers stood over her, waiting for her to stop hyperventilating long enough to be processed.
"Ethan, please!" Brittany sobbed, looking up at me with tear-streaked cheeks. "Mom made me do it! She said the business was failing and we just needed a temporary loan! We didn't mean to hurt Claire, I swear!"
"You didn't mean to hurt her when you held her down while strangers cut her hair?" I asked, looking down at my sister with a coldness I didn't know I possessed. "You didn't mean to hurt her when you lied to my face about an electrician?"
Brittany opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She slumped back against the cushions, finally realizing that her tears and designer clothes couldn't buy her out of a federal conspiracy charge.
Detective Miller walked over to me, holding a clear plastic evidence bag containing a thumb drive and several printed transaction summaries.
"Captain Vance," the detective said respectfully, lowering his voice so the weeping women couldn't hear. "We've got enough here for an open-and-shut grand jury indictment. Wire fraud, forgery of government-backed mortgage instruments, extortion, and assault causing bodily harm. Your mother is looking at a minimum of ten to fifteen years without parole, especially considering the federal interstate commerce violations tied to the shadow lenders."
I nodded slowly, my gaze fixed on the floor where Claire’s hair lay scattered in tragic little tufts. "What about the loans they took out in our name?"
"The state attorney general's office will issue an immediate injunction freezing all fraudulent debt claims tied to your social security numbers," Miller assured me. "The banks will wipe the slate clean once our forensics team certifies the signatures were forged under duress."
"Good," I said, turning toward the stairs. "I need to check on my wife."
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"Take all the time you need, Captain," Miller said. "We'll wrap up the scene here and transport the suspects to the county holding facility by midnight."
TITLE: The Price of Blood and Rice
