Chapter 15 - Face to Face with the Serpent
The interrogation suite at the Westchester County Sheriff's Department was sterile, brightly lit, and suffocating. Nicole Laurent sat across the metal table, dressed in a designer silk blouse that looked wrinkled and out of place beneath the fluorescent tubes. Despite her handcuffs, she still carried an aura of venomous defiance.
When the door opened and Anna walked in, flanked by Julian and the lead prosecutor, Nicole didn't flinch. Instead, a mocking, triumphant smirk spread across her lips.
"Well, look who decided to grace us with her presence," Nicole sneered, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "The sainted mother. The grand architectural genius. Did you really think you could run away to your little Italian paradise and pretend you didn't leave a trail of blood behind you?"
Anna pulled out the metal chair opposite Nicole and sat down slowly, her posture regal and entirely unbothered. She placed a single slim folder on the table between them.
"You look tired, Nicole," Anna said calmly. "The luxury penthouses don't look quite as appealing when you're sleeping on a cot waiting for bail."
"Don't patronize me!" Nicole snapped, leaning forward, her eyes flashing with pure malice. "I have the receipts, Anna! Those accounts in Zurich have your signature! The public is going to know that you set Jason up! You wanted him bankrupt, you wanted him humiliated, and you used me to push him over the edge!"
"Is that what you tell yourself to justify what you did?" Anna opened the folder, revealing high-resolution digital scans of original documents. "Take a look at page three, Nicole."
Nicole glanced down involuntarily, and her smirk faltered.
"Do you recognize the handwriting on the initial signature card for the Zurich account?" Anna asked softly. "It is your mother’s maiden name. And the notary who stamped it? Your cousin, who works at a suburban branch in New Rochelle. Did you honestly believe that Julian Rossi’s family, who has held controlling shares in the Union Bank of Switzerland for four generations, wouldn't be able to pull the security camera footage from the day that account was opened?"
Nicole’s breath caught in her throat. Her knuckles turned white against the edge of the metal table.
"You were seen entering the Zurich branch on June 14th wearing a brunette wig," Julian said, stepping forward, his voice a low, devastating thunder. "You signed Francesca's name using a forged power of attorney from Vance Enterprises. You didn't just commit fraud, Miss Laurent. You committed interstate wire fraud, international bank forgery, and identity theft against a European citizen. The federal authorities have already upgraded your indictment to RICO conspiracy."
Nicole’s arrogant mask shattered completely. The venom drained from her eyes, replaced by pure, paralyzing terror. "No... no, Jason said he would protect me... Jason promised—"
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"Jason surrendered everything twenty minutes ago," Anna said, standing up and looking down at the broken young woman who had sought to destroy her life. "You gambled on Jason Vance’s weakness, Nicole. But you forgot that a house built on another woman’s tears has no foundation at all. Enjoy your prison sentence."
***
