The heavy front doors clicked shut behind the officers, cutting off Victoria's shrill screams once and for all.
Detective Vance pulled a digital audio recorder from his pocket, setting it gently on the console table.
Detective Vance: Julian, are you ready to give the formal on-scene statement?
Julian: I'm ready, Marcus. Start the recording.
Detective Vance: Today is Tuesday, October sixth, 2026. This is Detective Marcus Vance interviewing Julian Sterling regarding the felony assault on minor Toby Sterling.
Julian took a deep, steadying breath, his hands resting flat against the marble table.
Julian: At approximately four-fifteen this afternoon, I arrived home from the corporate offices downtown.
Detective Vance: And what did you observe upon entering the grand foyer?
Julian: I observed Victoria Vance holding my seven-year-old son by the wrists and deliberately dropping him over the second-floor balustrade.
Detective Vance: Did you observe the child falling through the open airspace?
Julian: Toby plummeted thirty feet. I dove across the marble floor and caught him inches before he struck the stone.
Detective Vance: And what did the suspect say during this incident?
Julian: Victoria shouted, 'You don't belong in this mansion, and you will never see a single penny of this estate!'
Detective Vance: Did you use physical force to detain or stop the suspect?
Julian: I carried Toby upstairs and struck Victoria open-handed to stop her from advancing toward my child again.
Detective Vance: Under Texas Penal Code Section 9.32, your use of force was completely justified in defense of a third party, Julian.
Julian: I don't care about legal justifications, Marcus. I did what any father would do to save his child.
Detective Vance: We also seized the digital tablet from the master bedroom safe, Julian.
Julian: The tablet containing the offshore wire instructions?
Detective Vance: Every single text message between Victoria and her father regarding the liquidation of Toby's trust fund has been recovered.
Julian: Did she know about the car crash that killed Clara three years ago?
Detective Vance paused, his eyes hardening as he looked at his longtime friend.
Detective Vance: What do you mean, Julian?
Julian: Clara's brakes failed on Highway 281. The police report ruled it an accidental hydraulic failure.
Detective Vance: We are reopening that investigation as of ten minutes ago, Julian.
Julian felt his chest tighten, his breath catching in his throat as the darkest thought of all took root.
Julian: Marcus... Did Victoria have something to do with Clara's accident?
Detective Vance: We found a wire transfer from Arthur Vance's corporate account to an auto repair mechanic in Austin, dated two days before Clara's crash.
Julian closed his eyes, his knuckles turning white as he leaned heavily against the console.
Julian: They killed my wife... They murdered Clara so Victoria could marry me and take the company.
Detective Vance: We have the mechanic in custody right now, Julian. He's giving a full confession to avoid capital murder charges.
Julian: Make sure they never see the light of day again, Marcus. None of them.
Detective Vance: I give you my word as an officer of the law. They will die behind federal prison bars.
Footsteps sounded from the kitchen archway, and Dr. Reynolds walked into the foyer carrying his pediatric medical bag.
Dr. Reynolds: Julian, I just finished examining Toby in the sitting room.
Julian: Doctor Reynolds! How is he? Does he have any fractures or internal trauma?
Dr. Reynolds: His vitals are completely stable, thank God. Minor bruising on his ribs from the grip, but your catch prevented any impact injuries.
Julian: Thank you, Doctor. Thank you for coming so quickly.
Dr. Reynolds: You saved that little boy's life today, Julian. Another half-second, and he would have struck that marble floor at terminal velocity.
Julian nodded slowly, wiping a tear from his cheek before heading toward the sitting room to hold his son.