Chapter 3 - The Interrogation
The holding room at the precinct was cold, smelling of ammonia and stale coffee. I wasn't wearing handcuffs. I was sitting on the right side of the table, sipping water, wrapped in a blanket a sympathetic female officer had draped over my shoulders.
Across from me sat Detective Vance and two agents from the FBI's white-collar crime division.
"Miss Sterling," the lead FBI agent said, adjusting his glasses. "The files on that drive implicate your father in federal wire fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion spanning over a decade. It also implicates your mother as a co-signer on the offshore accounts."
"I am aware," I said evenly.
"Why wait until today?" Vance asked, leaning forward. "You could have mailed this to us anonymously."
"Because if I did it quietly, he would have found a way to buy his way out of it," I explained. "He has judges in his pocket. He has politicians on speed dial. I needed to do it in front of a thousand witnesses. I needed the press to have the story before his lawyers could file an injunction to bury it."
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The FBI agent nodded slowly, a look of profound respect crossing his face. "Your father is currently in holding cell three. He's demanding to speak with you. Says it's a 'family misunderstanding.'"
"Tell Mr. Sterling I have nothing to say to him," I replied, standing up. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a graduation dinner to attend. Just me."
