Chapter 6 - The Interrogation in the Grand Library
The heavy mahogany doors of the Cave Point grand library swung open with a slow, ominous creak.
Luca did not raise his voice, yet his single gesture commanded absolute obedience from every person present.
"Move everyone into the library," Luca ordered his head of security, his eyes never leaving Norah’s bandaged hand.
The terrified Meridian Capital employees scrambled to comply, ushered forward by silent, grim-faced guards.
Vanessa Thorne stumbled backward, her designer heels clicking frantically against the floor as she was guided toward the leather seating area.
Norah sat in a high-backed velvet armchair near the stone fireplace, a private physician softly applying antiseptic to her scraped palm.
Little Leo sat quietly on a footstool beside her, clutching her uninjured hand with fierce, protective loyalty.
Luca stood directly behind Norah’s chair, resting one hand lightly on the carved wooden backrest like a king guarding his throne.
Within twenty minutes, the heavy oak doors opened again to admit a breathless, frantic Margaret Thorne.
Margaret had rushed from Manhattan in her private town car after receiving frantic, garbled voicemails from her daughter.
As senior managing director at Meridian Capital, Margaret was accustomed to walking into boardrooms and bending corporate rules to her will.
She strode into the library with a haughty expression, ready to chew out whoever dared inconvenience her daughter.
"What is the meaning of this outrageous detention?" Margaret snapped, marching past the armed guards without breaking stride.
"Mr. Castellano, my daughter and her colleagues are on official corporate business, and this intimidation is entirely unacceptable."
Luca turned his head slowly, his dark eyes fixing Margaret with a look of pure, glacial contempt.
"Your daughter was caught trespassing on private property using forged corporate credentials linked to your personal household authorization," Luca replied, his voice flat and lethal.
Margaret’s confident facade cracked instantly, the color draining entirely from her powdered cheeks.
"That is a ridiculous fabrication," Margaret stammered, though her hands trembled as she clutched her leather briefcase.
Norah calmly stood up from her chair, stepping forward with her digital tablet illuminated in her uninjured hand.
"It is not a fabrication, Mrs. Thorne," Norah said, her voice cutting through the silent room with razor-sharp clarity.
"I have tracked four separate instances where temporary access cards were issued under your department and billed to maintenance accounts."
Norah swiped the screen, displaying high-resolution security footage from the Cave Point gates matching each transaction.
"On each occasion, those cards granted entry to individuals who proceeded to photograph classified Castellano shipping manifests stored in the east wing."
Vanessa gasped, her eyes widening in horror as she realized the full magnitude of the trap Norah had laid for them.
Margaret stared at the screen, her political and corporate influence evaporating under the sheer weight of undeniable digital evidence.
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"You didn't just commit corporate espionage against Meridian Capital," Norah concluded, locking her gaze onto Margaret.
"You declared war on the wrong family."
