Chapter 7 - The Tables Turn
"Don't listen to her!" I cried out, keeping the gun pointed toward the floor while raising my empty left hand. "She has the stolen pharmaceuticals right behind her in those industrial fridges! The blackmail files are in the filing cabinet! She threatened to kill me!"
Detective Vance didn't flinch, but he gestured sharply to the officers flanking him. "Secure the perimeter. Check the units."
One of the patrol officers moved past Rachel, pulling open the stainless-steel door of the industrial refrigerator to reveal the rows of propofol vials glowing under the fluorescent lights. The second officer popped open the metal filing cabinet, pulling out the dossiers and financial ledgers containing the blackmail evidence and my own contingency file.
Rachel’s face went entirely slack. The false tears dried up instantly.
"That... that's planted," Rachel stammered, her voice pitching upward in sheer panic as the officers slapped heavy steel handcuffs onto her wrists. "Mark put those there! I don't know anything about medical supplies! I'm a real estate executive!"
"You have the right to remain silent, Rachel Sterling," Detective Vance recited coldly as he pulled her roughly to her feet and shoved her toward the exit. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
As they hauled her past me, Rachel turned her head, her eyes burning with a venom so intense it felt like physical heat.
"You haven't won, Sarah," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Mark will never let you walk away. He knows things about your golden-boy husband you don't even want to imagine."
I didn't answer. I just watched her go, the heavy weight of the gun finally sliding out of my trembling fingers to clatter harmlessly against the concrete floor.
Detective Vance walked back over to me, offering a steady hand to help me up.
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"You okay, Sarah?" he asked softly.
"I will be," I whispered, wiping the dust and sweat from my forehead. "Once my daughter is safe."
