Chapter 11 The Interrogation
826 Words
The apartment remained frozen in silence as the lead investigator lowered his identification wallet and carefully studied Ava’s face. His expression was calm, but there was a sharpness in his eyes that suggested he missed very little. The officers behind him continued scanning the room, their weapons lowered but still ready, while another quietly secured the shattered entrance. Dust from the broken door still floated through the air, catching the afternoon sunlight that filtered into the living room. The ordinary apartment had transformed into what felt like the center of a dangerous investigation.
Ava swallowed hard before finding her voice. “My husband’s disappearance is exactly what I’ve been trying to understand,” she said, refusing to look away from the investigator. “I woke up alone the morning after our wedding. Since then, every answer has led to another question.” She glanced briefly toward Victor and Mia before returning her attention to the officer. “If you know where Ethan is, please tell me. I’ll answer anything you want.”
The investigator remained silent for several seconds, as though weighing every word she had spoken. Finally, he slipped his identification back into his jacket and took one slow step closer. “My name is Daniel Mercer,” he said in a measured voice. “I’ve been investigating financial crimes involving the Blackwood Corporation for almost three years.” He paused, watching Ava’s reaction carefully. “Your husband’s disappearance changed this investigation overnight.”
Victor frowned slightly, his attention fixed on Mercer. “If you’re truly leading that investigation,” he said calmly, “why weren’t we contacted sooner?” His tone was respectful but cautious, the voice of a lawyer accustomed to questioning witnesses. “Instead, armed officers arrived only after an unidentified man forced his way into a private residence.” He glanced briefly toward Mr. Graves. “That timing raises more questions than it answers.”
Mercer nodded without showing any sign of offense. “A fair question,” he admitted. “We didn’t move earlier because we believed someone inside the Blackwood organization was leaking information.” He slowly removed a thin folder from beneath his arm and placed it on the dining table. “Every operation we planned failed within hours of being organized. We eventually concluded that we couldn’t trust everyone connected to the case.” His eyes briefly met Victor’s before returning to Ava.
Mr. Graves listened quietly from across the room, his hands still visible as instructed. He looked remarkably relaxed for a man surrounded by armed officers, almost as though the situation amused him. A faint smile rested on his lips while he watched the conversation unfold without interruption. His confidence unsettled Ava more than any threat he had made earlier. It was the confidence of someone who believed events were still unfolding according to plan.
Mia finally broke the silence. “If you’ve been watching Ethan for three years,” she asked, “why didn’t you protect him?” Her voice carried equal parts frustration and disbelief. “You make it sound like you knew he was in danger long before he disappeared.” She folded her arms tightly, waiting for an answer that might finally make sense of the chaos surrounding them.
Mercer’s expression softened slightly. “Protection isn’t always as simple as assigning bodyguards,” he replied. “Sometimes the safest course is allowing people to believe they aren’t being watched.” He exhaled slowly before continuing. “Unfortunately, whoever took Ethan was several steps ahead of us. By the time we realized their plan, he had already vanished.”
The words settled heavily over the room.
Ava lowered herself onto the edge of the sofa, feeling emotionally exhausted. Only forty-eight hours earlier she had been celebrating the happiest day of her life, surrounded by family, friends, and dreams of the future. Now she was listening to strangers discuss secret investigations, corporate conspiracies, and enemies she had never known existed. Nothing about her life resembled the future she and Ethan had planned together.
Mercer gently opened the folder resting on the table. Inside were several photographs, financial reports, and copies of confidential documents stamped with official seals. He carefully selected one photograph and slid it across the polished wood toward Ava. “Before we go any further,” he said quietly, “I need you to tell me if you’ve ever seen this woman.”
Ava reached for the photograph with trembling fingers.
The moment she looked at it, her breathing stopped.
It was the same woman she had seen only once before.
The woman in the faded photograph hidden inside Ethan’s envelope.
But this picture had been taken recently.
She looked older.
Her hair had turned silver.
Yet there was no doubt in Ava’s mind.
She was looking at Evelyn Blackwood.
And across the bottom of the photograph, someone had written three chilling words in black ink.
“She’s still alive.”
- Writer
