Chapter 3 - The Interrogation
Downstairs in the grand hall, the atmosphere had shifted from a joyous wedding celebration to a tense, suffocating hostage situation.
Police officers had secured all the exits, preventing any of the two hundred guests from leaving until they could be formally questioned.
Elena sat on a velvet sofa in the corner of the room, keeping Leo securely tucked under her arm.
A female detective approached them slowly, her badge flashing in the dim light of the chandeliers.
"Mrs. Vance, I know this is a terrible night, but I need to ask the boy a few questions," the detective said gently.
Elena tightened her arm around Leo.
"He is eight years old, he just witnessed a brutal attack on his father, and he is traumatized," Elena stated firmly.
"I am not going to let you interrogate him like a suspect."
"I don't view him as a suspect, ma'am, I view him as our only eyewitness," the detective replied with a sympathetic nod.
Leo slowly lifted his head from Elena’s shoulder, his tear-stained face pale and exhausted.
"I can tell her," Leo whispered, his voice trembling but determined.
Elena looked at the brave little boy and nodded, keeping her hand reassuringly on his back.
"What did you see, Leo?" the detective asked softly, clicking her pen.
"Mom and Dad were fighting in the study," Leo said, his eyes staring blankly at the marble floor.
"Dad was yelling about money, he said she stole it, and he was going to take me away from her."
The detective scribbled furiously in her notepad.
"Then what happened?" she prompted gently.
"Mom hit him with the heavy statue," Leo choked out, a fresh wave of tears spilling down his cheeks.
"He fell down, and there was so much blood, and then she looked at me."
Leo began to shake violently again.
"She didn't look like my mom anymore, she looked like a monster."
Elena pulled him close, glaring fiercely at the detective.
"That is enough for now," Elena demanded, ending the interview.
Across the room, Caroline was putting on the performance of a lifetime for two other investigators.
She was weeping elegantly, dabbing at her dry eyes with a silk handkerchief, playing the role of the devastated wife perfectly.
"My poor Arthur, who could have done this to him?" she wailed, leaning heavily against a marble pillar.
Elena watched her, a cold disgust settling deep in her stomach.
May you like
She remembered the silver owl keychain hanging from Caroline's purse, and the way Leo had reacted to it.
There was a massive, dark secret hidden in that small piece of metal, and Elena was determined to find out what it was.
