Chapter 5 - THE PRECINCT BASEMENT
The interrogation room at the First District precinct smelled of stale coffee, old floor wax, and decades of despair. The metal table was scratched and gouged by generations of men who had sat where Silas was sitting now—hands cuffed loosely to a steel loop bolted to the center of the wood, his posture relaxed, his dark suit jacket draped over the back of the metal chair.
Lena sat on a wooden bench just outside the glass partition in the observation hallway, her fingers nervously twisting the silver house pendant at her neck.
Captain Miller, a veteran with tired eyes and graying temples, tossed a thick manila folder onto the table in front of Silas.
"The board of directors is currently in the chief's office holding an emergency vote," Miller said, leaning against the doorframe with a toothpick between his teeth. "They're activating the succession clause. They claim you were operating an unsanctioned logistics network out of the South Docks."
Silas didn't look at the folder. "Everett drafted that clause in 1998. He wrote it specifically so he could oust my father if he ever tried to clean up the docks."
"Maybe," Miller sighed, pulling the toothpick from his mouth. " giấy tờ are legal, Silas. The signatures match. As of twenty minutes ago, Everett Veil is the interim CEO of Veil Meridian, and you're officially suspended pending a federal corruption inquiry."
"And Owen Price?"
"Owen suffered a massive cardiac arrest in the clinic twenty minutes after we left," Miller said quietly. "The medical examiner is calling it natural complications from chronic hypertension. Convenient, isn't it?"
Silas’s jaw tightened. "It's murder."
"Prove it," Miller challenged. "The clinic security tapes were scrubbed by an automated system routine at midnight. There's no record of us being down there, no record of Everett visiting, and no record of Owen's statement."
Miller turned and walked out of the room, leaving Silas alone under the harsh glare of the fluorescent overhead light.
A moment later, the door to the observation hallway clicked open. Lena slipped inside, closing it quickly behind her. She didn't wait for permission; she pulled out the metal chair opposite Silas and sat down.
"They locked the files," Lena whispered, leaning across the table. "I tried to access the subsidiary accounts from my terminal at the office before the security guards escorted me out. My login was revoked, and my mother's facility nurse just called—they're trying to transfer her to a state-run hospital upstate."
Silas looked up, his dark eyes sharpening instantly. "They're going after your mother to keep you quiet."
"They already have her," Lena said, a tear finally breaking free and tracking down her cheek. "The ambulance is scheduled to pick her up in an hour. I can't get across town in time. The police have my car impounded."
Silas didn't hesitate. He raised his hands, the handcuffs rattling against the steel loop. "Miller!" he shouted toward the hallway.
The door opened immediately. The captain looked in, frowning. "What?"
"Uncuff me," Silas ordered.
"I can't do that, Silas. You're technically under administrative detention—"
"My mother's nurse just called," Lena interrupted, her voice trembling with rising panic. "Everett's men are abducting a civilian from a private medical facility under the guise of a state transfer. If you let them do this, you're not just a corrupt cop—you're an accomplice to kidnapping."
Miller stared at Lena for three long seconds. Then he looked at Silas, whose face bore the unmistakable, dangerous authority of a man who owned half the politicians in the city.
With a heavy sigh, Miller pulled the brass key from his pocket and clicked open the cuffs.
May you like
"You have forty-five minutes," Miller muttered, tossing the key onto the table. "And if anyone asks, I was in the restroom."
Silas stood up, grabbing his suit jacket. He reached across the table, grabbed Lena's hand, and pulled her toward the back service exit. "Come on. We're going to pay a visit to the nursing home."
