Chapter 4 - The Corrupt Accomplice
Armed with the devastating evidence from the hidden safe, Alejandro and I drove straight to the central police precinct.
Detective Miller sat behind his cluttered desk, his eyes widening in pure shock as Alejandro dumped the stack of folders right in front of him.
"This elevates the entire case from simple assault to a massive, multi-million dollar fraud conspiracy," Miller stated, flipping through the forged insurance documents.
"But Doña Victoria didn't pull this highly sophisticated scheme off all by herself."
"Someone with extensive legal access had to forge the military documents and finalize the fraudulent insurance policy."
Alejandro crossed his arms over his chest, his mind working rapidly to connect the missing dots.
"Her personal estate attorney, Richard Vance," Alejandro concluded, his voice dripping with absolute disgust.
"He is the only person who handles her finances and has the legal authority to notarize these specific documents."
Within two hours, Detective Miller had secured a search warrant for Richard Vance's upscale downtown law firm.
Alejandro insisted on riding along with the police, absolutely determined to see the corrupt lawyer face justice.
I stayed behind at the precinct, sipping terrible vending machine water and praying for a swift resolution.
When Alejandro returned to the station later that afternoon, he had a triumphant, satisfied smirk on his handsome face.
"They caught Vance red-handed trying to shred massive amounts of documents in his private office," Alejandro told me, pulling me into a tight hug.
"He took one look at the police tactical team and immediately started crying like a coward."
"He instantly agreed to testify against my mother in exchange for a lighter prison sentence."
The sheer relief washed over me in massive, crashing waves.
Doña Victoria's intricate web of lies was rapidly burning to the ground, leaving her with absolutely no way out.
"She is being held without bail at the county jail," Detective Miller informed us as we prepared to leave the station.
"Given the overwhelming amount of evidence, the District Attorney is pushing for a highly expedited trial."
"You two should go home, lock your doors, and focus entirely on the arrival of your new baby."
As we walked out to the truck, the evening air felt remarkably fresh and entirely clean.
May you like
For the first time in what felt like absolute years, I was no longer looking over my shoulder in constant fear.
We had survived the absolute worst of the storm, and we had done it entirely together.
