Chapter 7 - The Interrogation Room
The interrogation room at the federal detention center smelled of cheap disinfectant, stale coffee, and cold fear.
Reid sat slumped in a metal chair bolted to the floor, his designer suit wrinkled, his tie loosened to a pathetic knot around his neck. The heavy steel door clicked open, and Tessa Langley stepped inside, escorted by a federal public defender. She looked a shell of her former self; her cream-colored cashmere coat was gone, replaced by a standard orange jumpsuit that swallowed her frame.
She slammed her cuffed hands down onto the metal table, glaring at Reid with a look of pure, unadulterated venom.
"This is all your fault!" Tessa shrieked, her voice echoing off the concrete walls. "You swore to me your family had money! You swore you were untouchable!"
"Shut up, Tessa," Reid muttered, not even bothering to look up at her. His mind was racing, completely broken by the reality of his situation.
"No, I won't shut up!" she cried, tears streaming down her face as she leaned over the table. "The feds picked me up at the airport trying to board a flight to Zurich! They seized my passport, my jewelry, everything! They said I'm facing twenty years for the offshore shell accounts you made me sign!"
"I made you sign?" Reid scoffed, finally raising his head, a bitter, twisted smile touching his lips. "You practically begged me to put those accounts in your name so you could buy designer bags without Marjorie noticing! You were a willing partner in every single crime, Tessa. Don't act like an innocent victim now."
Before Tessa could lunge across the table at him, the heavy door opened again.
This time, it wasn't a guard.
A tall man in a bespoke charcoal suit walked into the room, holding a slim leather folder. His silver hair and cold, unyielding gray eyes commanded absolute authority. It wasn't a federal agent.
It was Nolan.
Nolan walked slowly over to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting down directly across from Reid and Tessa. He placed the leather folder on the table, opening it to reveal a single, clean sheet of paper.
"Mr. Kessler. Ms. Langley," Nolan said smoothly, his voice like crushed ice. "I hope you are finding the accommodations comfortable. Because you're going to be looking at these walls for a very long time."
Reid narrowed his eyes, leaning forward. "Where is Audrey? I want to speak to my wife. This is a domestic dispute blown out of proportion. We can settle this!"
Nolan let out a cold, humorless chuckle. "Your wife, Mr. Kessler, is currently sitting on the board of Bellamy Holdings in Boston, reviewing the final liquidation manifest of what used to be your empire. She doesn't have time to speak with a common criminal."
Tessa gasped, clutching her face in her hands. "Please... Mr. Nolan, or whatever your name is. Tell Ms. Bellamy I had nothing to do with it! It was all Reid! He beat her! He forced her to stay!"
Nolan turned his icy gaze onto Tessa, making her shrink back instantly. "Ms. Langley, Miss Bellamy knows every single text message, every hotel receipt, and every whisper you exchanged on that staircase. Your cooperation with the federal prosecutor's office has been noted... which is why your sentence will only be fifteen years instead of twenty."
Tessa let out a choked sob and slumped back into her chair, completely defeated.
Reid stared at Nolan, his chest heaving with desperate rage. "She can't do this to me! I built Kessler Development from the ground up! I am a man of power!"
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"You were a man of glass," Nolan corrected calmly, standing up and buttoning his jacket. "And Audrey just dropped the hammer."
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