Chapter 3 - The Interrogation Room and the First Confession
The sterile interview room at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) field office smelled faintly of bleach and cheap coffee. A single overhead fluorescent light hummed with a monotonous electrical buzz that grated on my raw nerves. My left arm was immobilized in a temporary sling, wrapped tightly in bandages from where my shoulder had been painfully dislocated and reset at the base medical clinic.
Across the steel table sat Special Agent Marcus Vance, a seasoned investigator with sharp eyes that missed nothing, and Commander Grant, whose presence served as a grim reminder that this was not merely a family feud—it was a direct security breach of a vital military installation.
"Olivia," Agent Vance began, sliding a printed file across the metal table. "Let's review the timeline. According to base security logs, your mother's civilian visitor pass was upgraded three days ago to a Level-2 contractor-sponsored escort status. That status requires a verified sponsor signature and an active Department of Defense biometric scan. Who sponsored her?"
I swallowed hard, my throat dry and aching. "I didn't. I haven't spoken to her in months, ever since I transferred to Norfolk. I certainly didn't authorize any base access for either of them."
Commander Grant leaned forward, resting his heavy forearms on the table. His voice was firm, carrying the quiet gravity of a commanding officer protecting one of his own. "We know you didn't, Petty Officer Vance. Our internal audit shows the digital signature used to approve her pass was forged using an administrative override key. And that key belongs exclusively to the base logistics command terminal—specifically, the terminal located in Supply Sector Four, where your mother was supposedly visiting a distant acquaintance last week."
My stomach churned. "She used someone else's credentials? Or did she steal an access card?"
"Worse," Vance said grimly, tapping a finger on a photograph pulled from the file. It showed my mother sitting calmly in an interrogation room down the hall, showing zero remorse. "She didn't just steal credentials. She had help from inside the base network. Someone with active clearance walked her through the biometric enrollment kiosk."
"Who?" I demanded, wincing as a sharp pain lanced through my ribs.
"We're running facial recognition on the security cameras near the enrollment station right now," Vance replied smoothly. "In the meantime, let's talk about Richard. He's currently locked in federal holding, facing multiple felony counts: assault on a military member, destruction of federal property, breaking and entering into an off-base housing zone under military jurisdiction, and violation of federal protective orders. He's looking at a minimum of fifteen years in a federal penitentiary."
"Good," I muttered bitterly, staring down at my scarred hands. "He deserves every single day of it."
"He does," Grant agreed quietly. "But your mother is singing a very different tune in room B. She claims she was only there to 'protect' you from what she called your 'rebellious lifestyle.' She claims Richard only lost his temper because you provoked him by cutting off family communication."
Anger flared hot and bright in my chest, burning away the lingering shock. "Protect me? She watched him snap my arm! She stood there like a stone statue while he kicked my ribs in! That woman doesn't know the meaning of protection!"
"We have the body-cam footage from the arresting officers," Vance said reassuringly, his tone softening slightly. "Her complicity is crystal clear under federal accessory laws. She helped him track your off-base address, she secured the access codes to bypass the outer perimeter gates, and she stood guard while he committed a violent felony against a serving member of the United States Navy."
"Then why isn't she in handcuffs too?" I asked, my voice rising in disbelief.
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"She is," Vance said with a faint, grim smile. "We just wanted to see what story she would spin before we dropped the hammer. But Olivia... there's something else in her digital footprint that has our cyber division deeply concerned. Her phone didn't just contain your address. It contained classified deployment schedules for your entire medical unit."
The air in the room suddenly turned to ice.
