Chapter 5 - The NCIS Investigation
(Word count: ~1500)
Two hours later, the small recovery room was occupied by two individuals in crisp dark suits.
Special Agent Sarah Lin of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service sat in the visitor's chair, a digital voice recorder humming quietly on the bedside tray between us. Standing near the window was Investigator Miller from the Marine Corps Provost Marshal’s Office, his official notebook open.
Agent Lin was a sharp, composed woman in her early fifties with graying hair pulled into a tight bun. She had listened to my entire statement—from the childhood history of Gavin's unpunished violence to the specific details of the argument beside the program table—without interrupting a single time.
When I finished recounting Elaine's morning visit and handed over the pre-notarized conservatorship document, Agent Lin carefully placed the sheet into a clear plastic evidence bag.
"Staff Sergeant Vance-Miller," Agent Lin said, her tone professional yet layered with quiet empathy. "I need to be very clear with you regarding the legal scope of what we are looking at here."
"Go ahead, Agent," I replied.
"Initially, the Provost Marshal’s Office booked your half-brother, Gavin Vance, on charges of simple assault and disturbing the peace on a military installation," Lin explained, tapping her pen against her pad. "However, based on the medical reports from Dr. Aris detailing the acute blunt force trauma to your lower abdomen, combined with this pre-notarized conservatorship agreement, the charges are shifting significantly."
Investigator Miller stepped forward from the window. "We are now looking at Federal Aggravated Assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction, as well as conspiracy to commit wire and financial fraud. Furthermore, because the assault occurred on federal property against an active-duty service member, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina is evaluating charges under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act."
My heart gave a heavy, painful thud. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
"Does that mean..." Daniel began, his voice tight.
"It means that under federal law, if an assault on a pregnant woman results in the termination of the pregnancy, the perpetrator can be charged with a separate offense for the loss of the unborn child," Agent Lin stated clearly. "Gavin Vance is no longer looking at a state-level misdemeanor or a night in a county jail. He is looking at federal prison time."
I leaned back against the pillows, feeling a strange mixture of profound grief and grim satisfaction. "What about my father?"
Agent Lin looked down at the plastic evidence bag containing the pre-notarized agreement. "Your stepmother's testimony regarding the phone call between your father and brother, combined with this fraudulent notary stamp, provides clear evidence of premeditation. Your father, Robert Vance, is currently being detained for questioning as an co-conspirator."
Before I could answer, a soft knock sounded at the door. Investigator Miller stepped over and opened it slightly.
A young Marine lance corporal stood in the hallway. "Investigator, Mr. Robert Vance is in the main lobby. He has brought a civilian defense attorney and is demanding to see the patient."
Agent Lin stood up immediately, snapping her notepad shut. "He has remarkable nerve."
"I want to see him," I said suddenly.
Daniel turned to me, his eyes wide with concern. "Hannah, no. You don't need to put yourself through that. You're still recovering from surgery."
"I need to see him, Daniel," I insisted, my voice holding the absolute authority of a Marine officer. "I need him to look at me in this bed. And I want him to say whatever lie he brought with him directly to my face while Agent Lin is standing right here."
Agent Lin exchanged a long glance with Investigator Miller, then nodded slowly. "We will record the interaction from the observation corner. If at any point you feel distressed, Staff Sergeant, we will end the visit immediately and remove him."
Ten minutes later, the door pushed open.
My father walked into the room. He was wearing his gray funeral suit, the one he wore to formal events. He looked haggard—his eyes bloodshot, his skin pale and sallow. Behind him stood a slick, middle-aged man in a tailored navy suit holding a leather briefcase—Gavin's defense attorney.
Dad took three quick steps toward my bed, his arms opening slightly. "Hannah... oh God, Hannah..."
"Stay right where you are, Dad," I said, my voice cutting through the air like a razor.
He stopped dead in his tracks, his hands hovering awkwardly in the air. His eyes darted to Daniel, who stood beside my bed like a stone wall, then to Agent Lin sitting quietly in the corner with her recorder visible.
"Hannah, please," Dad whimpered, his voice trembling. "Send these people away for ten minutes. We need to talk as a family."
"We aren't a family, Robert," I said, dropping the title 'Dad' for the first time in my thirty-five years. "We are a victim and an accomplice."
His face twitched as if he had been slapped. "How can you say that? I'm your father! I flew down here to celebrate your promotion!"
"You flew down here to rob me," I corrected him coldly. "Elaine brought me the paperwork you left in your briefcase. The pre-notarized conservatorship for my timberland trust."
My father went entirely white. He shot a frantic, desperate glance toward his lawyer, who immediately stepped forward.
"Mr. Vance, do not answer that—" the lawyer began.
"Shut up!" I snapped at the attorney, my voice echoing off the tile walls with such command that the lawyer actually snapped his mouth shut. I turned my gaze back to my father. "Look at me, Robert. Look at my face."
He forced his eyes to meet mine, tears brimming in his lower lids.
"You knew I was pregnant," I said softly. "You found the insurance claim two weeks ago. And instead of picking up the phone to ask if I was okay, you called Gavin and told him to come down here and intimidate me into signing over my life before I announced my child to the world."
"Hannah... no... that's not how it was!" Dad stammered, stepping forward again, his hands clasped in a gesture of desperate begging. "Gavin was spiraling! He's broke, Hannah! He was going to lose his house! I thought... I thought if you helped him with the trust money, everyone would be taken care of! I didn't know he was going to hurt you! I swear to God I didn't know he would lay a hand on you!"
"He kicked me in the stomach, Robert," I said, every word dripping with absolute poison. "He kicked me while I was on the floor. And while I was bleeding, while my child was dying inside me, you stood over me and told me not to make things hard for him."
"He's my son!" Dad sobbed openly now, burying his face in his hands. "He's my firstborn! He has nothing, Hannah! You have everything—you have Daniel, you have your career, you have your health! Gavin has nothing!"
"He has a federal indictment now," Agent Lin's voice cut in from the corner with terrifying calm.
My father looked up, staring at the NCIS agent as if seeing her for the first time.
"Robert Vance," Agent Lin said, standing up and pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from her belt. "You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit federal bank fraud and obstruction of justice. You have the right to remain silent..."
As the cold steel clicked around my father's wrists, he didn't look at his lawyer. He didn't look at the floor. He stared directly at me, his face contorted in a terrifying mix of grief and sudden, ugly fury.
"You ruined this family, Hannah!" he screamed as Investigator Miller guided him toward the door. "You destroyed your brother! You destroyed your father! I hope you're happy with your damn uniform!"
The door slammed shut, leaving an echoing silence in its wake.
May you like
I sat back against the pillows, my hands trembling violently. Daniel wrapped his arms around me, pulling my head against his chest. I didn't cry. The tears were gone.
All that was left was the cold, clean burning of justice.
