Chapter 4 - Face to Face with a Monster
The interrogation room was windowless, smelling of stale tobacco and cheap floor wax. David sat at the center table in his ruined tuxedo shirt, his silk tie discarded, handcuffs binding his wrists to a bolted metal loop. His hair, usually styled to perfection, fell messily across his forehead. But it was his eyes that struck me—those piercing blue eyes that had once made me feel like the center of the universe were now empty, black pits of pure malice.
As the heavy metal door clicked shut behind Detective Miller, David looked up. He didn't look remorseful. He looked annoyed. Like a businessman whose quarterly presentation had been slightly delayed by an incompetent assistant.
"Maya," he said smoothly, his voice dropping into that honeyed cadence that had once hypnotized me. "You're making a terrible mistake. All of this... the police, the accusations, the ruined reception... it's all a misunderstanding. Sarah has manipulated you. You know how unstable she gets when she's stressed."
I walked slowly toward the table, stopping just out of arm's reach. I looked down at him—at the man I had loved, trusted, and planned to build a family with.
"The police found the life insurance policy, David," I said, my voice eerily calm. "They found the offshore accounts. They found the chat logs with the poison supplier. And most importantly, they found the records of the three other women you married and murdered."
David's smile didn't fade; it simply shifted, hardening into something feral. The mask finally cracked entirely, revealing the snarling predator underneath.
"You were always too trusting, Maya," he sneered, straining against the handcuffs. "A pretty little heiress with zero street smarts. That grandfather of yours left you enough real estate in downtown Chicago to fund three startups, and you were just going to hand it over in a standard pre-nup? Please. I gave you six months of royal treatment. You should be thanking me for ending it quickly before I got bored."
Without thinking, my hand moved faster than my conscious thought.
SLAP!
The sharp crack echoed off the concrete walls. David’s head snapped to the side, a red welt blooming instantly across his pale cheekbone. He stared at me in stunned silence, his chest heaving.
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"Don't ever speak my family's name again," I whispered, leaning in close so he could smell the bitter anger on my breath. "The fairytale is over, David. You're going to spend the rest of your life in a concrete box, wondering how a woman you underestimated managed to bring your entire empire down with a single wedding cake."
I turned on my heel, pushed open the heavy steel door, and walked out of the room without looking back.
