Chapter 3: The Price of the Pedestal
The interrogation room was designed to break people, but for Julian, the room was irrelevant. The real prison was the digital footprint he had left behind—a trail of breadcrumbs he thought he had burned. Sarah sat across from him during the initial processing, not as a victim, but as a ghost haunting him. She didn't speak; she didn't have to. She let the evidence speak for her.
The investigation into the family’s finances revealed more than just corporate greed. It unearthed the "discarded" lives Julian had trampled over—the small-business owners he’d liquidated, the families evicted for his developments. Julian tried to maintain his composure, shouting about his connections, his influence, and his "right" to operate above the law. But the police officers didn't flinch. They weren't looking at a titan; they were looking at a man who had sacrificed his humanity for a seat on a throne made of glass.
The drama deepened as Maya was brought in for questioning. The heartbreak of a daughter witnessing her father’s unraveling provided a brutal contrast to Julian’s cold, calculated defense. He didn't look at her with regret; he looked at her with betrayal. That single look was the final nail in his coffin, capturing the cold reality of a man who loved his image more than his own flesh and blood.
