Chapter 8 - THE AFTERMATH IN THE INTERROGATION WING
The harsh fluorescent lights of the NCIS interrogation wing buzzed with a relentless, monotonous hum as Olivia sat at the opposite side of the stainless-steel table, staring coldly at Margaret Carter.
Margaret’s civilian administrative badge had been stripped from her lapel, leaving a small frayed hole in the wool of her jacket, and her usually immaculate hair was disheveled from hours spent in holding.
“Your son has already signed a full confession,” Olivia stated evenly, breaking the heavy silence that had filled the room for ten minutes. “He told the prosecutors about the wire transfers, the blueprints you downloaded from the medical center database, and how you planted the security wedge in my apartment door.”
Margaret kept her eyes glued to the scuffed linoleum floor, her hands trembling slightly as she clutched a paper cup of cold water between her palms.
“Daniel was weak,” Margaret muttered bitterly, her voice cracking with suppressed anger. “He could never hold down a real career without someone guiding his hand. Sterling promised us financial security, a clean slate out of the country.”
“At the cost of destroying innocent lives, ruining careers, and nearly killing an active-duty service member in her own home?” Olivia asked, her voice hardening with every word. “Is that what you call a mother’s guidance?”
Margaret flinched as if struck physically, finally raising her eyes to meet Olivia’s steady, unyielding gaze.
“You never belonged in our family, Olivia,” Margaret spat out, a flash of her former arrogance returning for a brief second before collapsing under the weight of federal conspiracy charges. “You were too rigid, too independent. You intimidated him.”
“I didn't intimidate him; I held him accountable,” Olivia replied, standing up slowly from her chair and adjusting her uniform jacket with crisp precision. “And now, both of you will spend the next several decades being held accountable by a federal judge.”
As Olivia turned toward the heavy steel door, Margaret slumped forward into her hands, the reality of her life sentence crashing down around her with absolute finality.
Outside in the corridor, Special Agent Vance leaned against the wall waiting for her, holding a manila folder marked with a red classification stamp.
“The prosecutor just finalized the indictment packages for Sterling, Margaret, and Daniel,” Vance said, handing the folder to Olivia. “All federal charges locked in, no plea deals, no loopholes.”
“And the other women on the target list?” Olivia asked, checking the summary sheet inside the folder.
“All three of them have been fully debriefed, their personal security details lifted, and their commendations for exposing the logistics fraud are being processed by the Secretary of the Navy as we speak,” Vance confirmed with a reassuring smile.
Olivia closed the folder, feeling a profound sense of closure wash over her for the first time since the terrifying night of the break-in.
May you like
“What happens now, Lieutenant?” Vance asked gently.
“Now,” Olivia said, turning down the long corridor toward the exit doors where the morning sun was just beginning to break over the Norfolk harbor, “I go back to my unit, put on my uniform, and finish the job I swore to do.”
