Chapter 7: The Interrogation Breakthrough
Down the hall in the reinforced security holding room, Agent Miller pressed his advantage against Ethan. The federal agent slid an open laptop across the steel table, displaying a intercepted encrypted chat log traced from a burner phone dropped near the hospital perimeter.
“We cracked the transmission relay, Ethan,” Agent Miller stated coldly. “The signal wasn't coming from miles away. The trigger signal was being broadcast from inside the hospital campus parking structure. Someone is watching you right now.”
Ethan’s eyes widened with sudden, burning fury. All the fear vanished, replaced by the protective rage of a father whose family had been pushed to the absolute brink. “Julian... It was Julian Vance.”
Agent Miller leaned in. “Who the hell is Julian Vance?”
“My former chief financial officer at Vanguard Logistics,” Ethan spat out, his teeth clenched. “He embezzled twelve million dollars from our corporate accounts. I discovered the fraud last week and threatened to turn him over to the federal authorities. He swore he would destroy everything I loved.”
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Miller’s radio crackled to life instantly. “Agent Miller, this is tactical surveillance team four. We’ve locked onto a suspect matching Julian Vance’s description inside a black sedan parked on Level 3 of the hospital parking garage. He’s holding a secondary remote transmitter.”
“Move in!” Miller barked into his lapel mic. “Take him down! Do not let him touch that trigger!”
