Chapter Six: The Second Betrayal
The interrogation room was deliberately plain.
Gray walls.
A steel table.
Two chairs.
No windows.
Vanessa Sinclair had spent years walking into penthouses, private clubs, and charity galas where every eye followed her.
Now she sat alone beneath a fluorescent light that hummed louder than the silence.
A detective placed a printed photograph on the table.
It was a still frame from the surveillance footage.
Vanessa's hand rested on the emerald necklace.
"We're giving you an opportunity," Detective Laura Jensen said calmly.
"Tell us why you took it."
Vanessa folded her arms.
"I want my attorney."
"You'll have one."
Laura slid another photograph across the table.
It showed the necklace hidden behind a removable panel inside Margaret Crosswell's dressing room.
"Before your attorney arrives..."
"...you should know we already found it."
For the first time since her arrest, uncertainty crossed Vanessa's face.
She had expected the necklace to remain hidden.
Someone had found it far sooner than planned.
Across town...
Crosswell Tower looked less like the headquarters of a billion-dollar corporation and more like a building under siege.
News vans lined the streets.
Reporters crowded the entrance.
Shareholders demanded answers.
Employees whispered in elevators.
May you like
Damian stood alone inside his office.
The room suddenly
