Chapter 4 - The Interrogation of Camilla Price
The morning light poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Aurelia Systems’ primary boardroom, illuminating dust motes dancing over the glass conference table.
Camilla Price sat alone on the far side of the table, clutching a cold paper cup of water between trembling, unmanicured hands.
She had removed her crimson gown, replacing it with a conservative charcoal blazer that did little to hide the exhaustion etched into her face.
Her lobes were bare, the teardrop diamonds having been surrendered to building security the night before under threat of grand larceny charges.
The door clicked open, and I walked in accompanied by Northstar’s lead white-collar investigator, Marcus Kane.
Camilla jumped to her feet instinctively, her chair scraping harshly against the hardwood floor.
“Sit down, Camilla,” I said, taking my seat at the head of the long table.
Marcus opened a thick, leather-bound dossier and placed it flat between us, revealing dozens of color-coded bank statements.
Camilla swallowed hard, her throat clicking audibly in the quiet room.
“Nora—Ms. Vance,” she began, her voice cracking with nervous tension.
“Julian lied to me about everything. You have to believe me.”
I didn't answer; I simply rested my hands on the mahogany surface and let the silence weigh on her.
“He told me your marriage was a legal arrangement that had ended years ago,” she rushed on, desperate to fill the vacuum.
“He told me you were emotionally unstable, that you lived off his executive salary and refused to sign divorce papers.”
Marcus turned the first page of the dossier, revealing copies of thirty-two separate invoices billed to an entity called Apex Creative Consultants.
“Apex Creative is registered to your sister’s residential address in New Hampshire, Ms. Price,” Marcus stated in a dry, mechanical tone.
“Over fourteen months, Aurelia Systems paid Apex one point four million dollars for branding services that have zero documented deliverables.”
Camilla’s eyes widened, her hands shaking so violently that water spilled over the rim of her cup onto her sleeve.
“Julian set that company up!” she cried out, pointing frantically at the documents.
“He told me it was a standard corporate bonus structure to avoid executive tax brackets!”
“Did he also tell you that transferring corporate funds to a direct relative without board approval constitutes federal wire fraud?” I asked quietly.
Camilla slumped back into her chair, pressing her palms against her eyes as a ragged sob broke from her chest.
“I didn’t know the law,” she wept, her glamorous facade completely dissolving into pathetic ruin.
“I just wanted to secure my future. Julian promised me that once he took the presidency, we would move to London.”
“Julian promised you a kingdom built on sand and stolen gold,” I told her, leaning forward slightly.
“He was using your sister’s entity as a laundromat to funnel cash into offshore accounts before Aurelia collapsed.”
Camilla looked up, genuine shock cutting through her panic.
“He was planning to let the company go bankrupt?” she asked, her voice a hollow whisper.
“He was shorting Aurelia’s stock through secondary accounts while draining operating reserves,” Marcus confirmed, tapping the ledger.
“You weren’t his partner, Camilla; you were his designated fall girl.”
The room fell silent as the full weight of Julian’s betrayal crushed whatever romantic illusions she had harbored.
She pulled a slim gold USB drive from her blazer pocket and pushed it across the glass table toward Marcus.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Every email, every encrypted text, and every private audio recording Julian made during the offshore contract negotiations,” she whispered, tears streaming through her makeup.
“He kept them to blackmail the board if they resisted his takeover.”
I looked at the drive, then looked directly into the eyes of the woman who had helped my husband humiliate me for over a year.
“This drive will buy you an audience with the United States Attorney,” I said calmly.
May you like
“It will not save your career, it will not return your reputation, and it will not stop the civil litigation Northstar is filing against you today.”
Camilla closed her eyes, letting out a broken whimper as two security guards entered the room to escort her off the premises.
