Chapter 6 - The Interrogation of Eleanor Sterling
While Victor sat in solitary confinement awaiting trial, his mother Eleanor was brought into the federal holding facility for her formal interrogation. She sat at the stainless-steel table in her tailored Chanel suit, her nose wrinkled in aristocratic disgust at the drab concrete walls and the hum of the fluorescent lights.
The heavy metal door clicked open, and Detective Keller walked in, followed closely by Captain Hayes. They dropped a heavy manila folder onto the table with a loud slap.
Eleanor crossed her arms, lifting her chin. "I demand my lawyer. I won't answer a single question without counsel present."
"Your lawyer is currently busy trying to find a loophole in federal conspiracy laws that doesn't exist, Mrs. Sterling," Keller said smoothly, pulling out a chair and sitting across from her. He slid a stack of printed financial statements and text message transcripts across the table.
Eleanor refused to look down. "My son and I have done nothing wrong. That girl was an intruder in our family from day one. She didn't belong in our social circle, and she certainly didn't belong in uniform."
"That's interesting," Hayes chimed in, leaning forward. "Because according to text messages recovered from your phone, sent to Victor at 11:45 PM on the night of the incident, you wrote: 'Make sure she never walks out that front door tomorrow morning. Finish it.'"
The color drained instantly from Eleanor's face, though she quickly recovered her haughty mask. "Out of context! We were discussing her packing her bags! She was threatening to leave the marriage!"
"No, Mrs. Sterling," Keller said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Context is everything. Especially when paired with the audio recording from the hallway where you stood over Second Lieutenant Vance while she was paralyzed on the floor, laughing and telling her, 'Maybe now you’ll finally understand where a wife belongs.' That’s not a domestic dispute. That’s depraved indifference and accessory to attempted murder."
Hayes opened another folder, revealing federal tax documents. "And let's talk about your personal involvement in Victor's financial crimes, Mrs. Sterling. We found that the mansion on Crestwood Lane—the house where you treated your daughter-in-law like an indentured servant—was purchased using embezzled pension funds belonging to disabled veterans through a shell corporation you control."
Eleanor’s hands began to tremble slightly against the edge of the table. The impenetrable armor of wealth and social privilege she had worn her entire life was splintering under the weight of federal indictments.
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"You're destroying our family over a common soldier," Eleanor whispered, her voice shaking with suppressed rage.
"No, Mrs. Sterling," Keller replied, standing up and buttoning his jacket. "Your family destroyed itself the moment you forgot that in the eyes of the law—and especially the United States military—no one is above justice."
