CHAPTER 4
The heavy leather badge holder struck the oak surface with a force that made the desk clerk jump out of his swivel chair. The gold emblem of the United States Department of Justice gleamed fiercely under the harsh fluorescent lights of the precinct lobby.
The rookie officer peered down at the credentials, his face draining of all color as his eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated terror. He stumbled backward against the filing cabinets, stammering apologies as he realized the magnitude of his station's catastrophic blunder.
"F-Federal Prosecutor Vance..." the officer choked out, his hands trembling visibly as he snapped to an uncoordinated attention. "I-I had no idea your mother was the woman brought in tonight, ma'am! It was an administrative mistake!"
"An administrative mistake?" Victoria repeated, her voice dropping an octave into a terrifying, razor-sharp whisper that froze the surrounding officers in their tracks. "You detained a sixty-year-old woman, allowed her to be assaulted in your holding area, and you call it an administrative mistake?"
Before the terrified cop could formulate a coherent defense, Victoria brushed past him with a commanding, furious stride. Her dark charcoal coat billowed behind her like the cape of an avenging angel marching straight into the heart of corruption.
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The ambient chatter of the precinct instantly died down as every eye in the room locked onto the federal prosecutor's purposeful advance. Even the veteran desk sergeants dropped their coffee cups, recognizing the legendary reputation of the woman known across the eastern seaboard as an unyielding legal titan.
Victoria pushed open the heavy wooden door leading to the back holding cells, her gaze scanning the room with lethal intensity. She spotted her mother huddled on the bench, and the sight of the bruised face and torn beige cardigan shattered her last ounce of professional restraint.
