PART 3: THE FORENSIC COUNTER-STRIKE
PART 3: THE FORENSIC COUNTER-STRIKE
Vanessa’s smile froze on her face. "Liam, what are you talking about? There is no secondary file."
Liam reached into his uniform jacket and pulled out a encrypted black military tablet, sliding it directly over the paperwork onto Dr. Thorne's desk.
The screen lit up with a live-streaming data feed from the Chicago federal asset recovery unit.
"That's a complete log of my mother's private investment accounts," Liam said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, level tone. "Specifically, the $80,000 pending transfer that was initiated from Vanessa’s laptop while I was deployed in Germany."
Dr. Thorne’s hand shook as he reached for his phone. "Mr. Salvatore, this is highly unorthodox. If you are questioning my medical authority—"
"I’m not questioning your medical authority, Aris," Liam interrupted, using the doctor's first name like a weapon. "I’m executing an asset recovery warrant. Marcus Bell, you can come in now."
The heavy oak doors of the office swung open, and Marcus Bell, the state’s most ruthless financial crimes attorney, stepped inside, flanked by two plainclothes investigators from the State Attorney's office.
Vanessa stood up so fast her leather chair hit the mahogany bookcase behind her. "Liam! What is this? I’ve been taking care of your mother for months while you were gone!"
"You've been locking my mother in a dark room and deleting the security footage, Vanessa," Liam said, standing up to stand between his wife and Beatrice. "You forgot that before I wore this uniform, my entire profession was tracking digital fingerprints."
Marcus Bell placed a secondary legal binder on the desk. "Dr. Thorne, your medical license is being suspended pending an investigation into systematic guardianship fraud. We have the wire transfer records showing a $25,000 kickback paid to your offshore account from Vanessa Salvatore's private wallet."
Vanessa backed away toward the window, her face turning pale as ash. "Liam, please... we're family. We can fix this. I did it for our future!"
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"Our marriage ended the second you put those marks on her wrists, Vanessa," Liam whispered, his eyes completely devoid of the warmth he had once carried for her.
The plainclothes investigators stepped forward, pulling heavy steel handcuffs from their belts.
