Chapter 4 - The Interrogation and the Forged Identity
By 9:00 the following morning, the downtown precinct's interrogation room was filled with the sharp, artificial light of a federal investigation.
Because the forgery involved a simulated Department of Defense casualty notification, the case had been immediately escalated to military intelligence handlers working alongside the local district attorney.
I sat behind the two-way mirror with Alejandro, watching Doña Victoria sit in the metal chair, her cream-colored suit rumpled, her precious strands of pearls looking entirely ridiculous under the cold fluorescent bulbs.
Across from her sat Special Agent Vance, a federal investigator who specialized in military asset protection.
"Victoria," Vance said, sliding a printout of the Swiss bank transactions across the table. "We tracked the IP address that accessed the military font database used to create this fake notification. It didn't come from a cyber-café. It came from your personal iPad at 3:14 a.m. three weeks ago."
Victoria kept her eyes fixed on the wall, her lips pressed into a thin, tight line. "I have nothing to say without my personal attorney present."
"Your personal attorney was arrested forty-five minutes ago at the airport, ma'am," Vance replied smoothly, leaning forward. "He was carrying three separate passports under forged names and a briefcase containing two hundred thousand dollars in cashier's checks drawn directly from Elena Preston's inheritance trust."
I felt Alejandro’s grip tighten around my shoulder behind the glass panel.
The depth of the deception was dizzying. It wasn't just an overbearing mother-in-law who hated her son's choice of a wife; it was a calculated financial execution designed to strip my unborn child of every legal asset before Alejandro could return from his black-box deployment.
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"They thought my mission was a one-way trip," Alejandro noted quietly, his eyes fixed on his mother's cold profile. "They targeted a unit that was supposed to be completely erased from the active registry."
"But they forgot that ghosts can still file reports," I said, a newfound strength settling into my voice as I watched the investigator place a secondary set of federal indictments on the table.
