Chapter 3 - The Threat at the Bedside
By midnight, the surgical unit had quieted down to the gentle hum of IV pumps and distant heart monitors. Daniel sat asleep in a chair beside my bed, holding my hand even in his slumber.
A quiet knock sounded on the door frame. Detective Marcus Vance stepped into the room, his trench coat damp from the rain, a thick leather notebook tucked under his arm.
"Mrs. Sterling?" he asked softly. "I’m Detective Vance with the Special Victims Unit. I know you've just come out of major surgery, but we have your mother, Eleanor Price, in custody at the precinct. We need your statement before the magistrate sets bail in the morning."
I sat up slowly, adjusting the pillow behind my back despite the sharp pulling sensation along my incision line. "Is she claiming it was an accident?"
Detective Vance nodded gravely. "She told the arresting officers that the balloon arch was collapsing, that she grabbed the iron rod to stabilize it, and accidentally bumped into you in the commotion. She claims she was trying to protect the donation box from falling."
A cold laugh escaped my throat. "She’s lying."
"We have video footage from the venue," Vance replied, tapping his notebook. "It looks intentional on screen, but her defense attorney is already pushing a narrative of an unfortunate family tragedy caused by poor venue construction. If you back down or validate her claim of confusion, the District Attorney might drop this to simple reckless endangerment."
I looked over at Daniel, then at the photo of my son, Arthur, currently hooked to wires in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit three floors up.
"Detective," I said clearly, "she whispered in my ear while I was bleed out on the floor. She threatened to frame me for financial fraud if I didn't lie to the police."
Vance’s eyebrows raised. "Financial fraud?"
"My mother has been running illegal embezzlement schemes through my father’s legacy business for seven years," I revealed. "She used my identity to launder money, open fake credit lines, and steal from family trusts. She hit me because I cut off her access to my bank accounts last week."
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"Do you have evidence for these allegations, Mrs. Sterling?"
"I don't just have evidence," I said calmly. "I have a complete forensic audit."
