Chapter 4 - THE MAN BEHIND THE LOCKED DOOR
Stefan Keller sat in the interview room without saying a word.
Gero was in a different room.
Rüdiger had arrived with attorneys and refused to discuss the case.
It would have been easy to believe the situation was simple.
Gero assaulted my daughter.
Stefan helped him.
Rüdiger was his business partner.
But the evidence suggested something larger.
Sarah sat across from Stefan.
“You were inside Falkenhof.”
Silence.
“You removed an envelope.”
Nothing.
“You were photographed by the nursery camera.”
Stefan finally looked up.
“You don't understand what I was doing.”
“Then explain.”
“I was checking whether the device was still active.”
“Why?”
He said nothing.
Sarah placed the photograph of Beate on the table.
“You knew she was being watched.”
Stefan's jaw tightened.
“Gero wasn't supposed to hit her.”
My hands curled into fists.
Sarah remained calm.
“Then why did you stay silent?”
Stefan looked away.
“He owed money.”
“To whom?”
“Rüdiger.”
“For what?”
“He used company funds to cover gambling losses.”
That surprised me.
Gero had always presented himself as controlled.
Successful.
Disciplined.
Apparently, he had been hiding debts.
“How much?”
“More than he could repay.”
Sarah looked at the file.
“And Falkenhof?”
“Rüdiger wanted it.”
“For the property?”
“Yes.”
Stefan finally looked at us.
“Gero told Beate they needed cash because the company was struggling.”
“Was it?”
“No.”
“Then why lie?”
“Because Rüdiger wanted the property transferred.”
I looked at Beate.
“You were being pressured to sell your mother's house.”
She nodded slowly.
“Why didn't Gero just ask?”
Stefan gave a bitter smile.
“He knew she'd refuse.”
“So he used fear.”
“Yes.”
I hated how simple the explanation sounded.
Yet something still felt missing.
Sarah noticed it too.
“What was in the envelope?”
Stefan hesitated.
“A copy of the property insurance.”
“Why did Rüdiger want that?”
“I don't know.”
Sarah leaned forward.
“Try again.”
Stefan swallowed.
“There was a second page.”
“What page?”
“The beneficiary designation.”
Beate frowned.
“I never changed it.”
“Exactly.”
Sarah's expression sharpened.
“Who was named?”
Stefan looked down.
“Rüdiger.”
My stomach dropped.
Beate whispered:
“My mother never would have done that.”
“She didn't.”
Stefan looked at her.
“Someone forged the document.”
The room fell silent.
Now the motive became clearer.
Rüdiger wasn't simply trying to acquire the house.
He wanted the insurance attached to it.
But why?
Sarah asked the question.
Stefan hesitated.
“Because the house was collateral for a much larger loan.”
“Whose loan?”
He looked at Gero.
“His.”
Gero had walked into the arrangement willingly.
Then the business started collapsing.
Instead of telling Beate, he needed her property.
He thought fear would get it done.
Rüdiger encouraged him.
Stefan helped monitor the house.
The belt attack wasn't an isolated eruption.
It was part of pressure designed to make Beate surrender something she owned.
But I still couldn't explain one thing.
“Why the medical risk?”
Beate was seven months pregnant.
If something had happened to her, the consequences could have been catastrophic.
Stefan lowered his eyes.
“I warned Gero.”
“About what?”
“I told him the baby could be harmed.”
“And?”
“He said she needed to be afraid enough to cooperate.”
I stood.
Sarah immediately looked at me.
“Mr. Brand.”
I stopped.
I knew she was right.
Rage wasn't action.
I sat back down.
Then Stefan said something unexpected.
“Gero wasn't the only one.”
Sarah looked at him.
“Who else?”
“Rüdiger's wife.”
Beate frowned.
“Clara?”
Stefan nodded.
“She knew about the plan.”
“Why?”
“Because the loan was in her name.”
Sarah opened another file.
The bank records showed Clara Keller had signed the refinancing paperwork.
But there was something else.
She had also made several payments to medical facilities.
Beate looked confused.
“Medical?”
Sarah examined the dates.
One payment had occurred after each known incident of violence.
She looked at Beate.
“Those payments were made on your behalf.”
I stared.
“What?”
Clara had apparently been secretly paying for prenatal care and medications.
Beate's eyes filled with tears.
“Why?”
Stefan answered quietly.
“She knew what was happening.”
“Then why didn't she stop it?”
“She was afraid of her husband.”
That was the first crack in the simple story.
Not everyone involved had been a willing participant.
Some had been trapped too.
Sarah's phone vibrated.
She read the screen.
“Gero has requested to speak.”
I looked at Beate.
She shook her head.
“I don't want to see him.”
“You don't have to.”
Then Sarah added:
“He says he won't speak unless you are told one thing.”
“What?”
Sarah looked at Beate.
“He says the belt wasn't his idea.”
Beate stared.
My stomach tightened.
“Whose was it?”
May you like
Sarah answered:
“Rüdiger's.”
