Chapter 6 - The Commissioner's Office
The executive conference room of the 1st Precinct in Lower Manhattan was an arena of polished oak and tension.
Julian Sterling sat at the head of the conference table, his tuxedo immaculate, a glass of ice water resting beside his manicured hand.
Surrounded by four high-priced corporate defense attorneys, Julian looked as calm as a judge on a Sunday morning.
Sitting across from him was Police Commissioner Harold Vance, reviewing a thick stack of certified legal documents.
The double doors swung open with aggressive force.
Sophia marched into the room, her bare feet tracking dirt across the carpet, her torn gold gown smeared with grease.
Holding her left hand was eight-year-old Toby, wrapped in Frank’s heavy police windbreaker.
Frank walked in behind them, slamming the steel lockbox down onto the oak table with a concussive bang.
“Commissioner, cancel the bail orders,” Frank announced in a razor-sharp tone.
“We have an audio confession linking Julian Sterling to an interstate kidnapping ring.”
Julian didn't flinch.
He didn't even look at the lockbox.
He offered Sophia a slow, patronizing smile, taking a measured sip of his water.
“Good evening, darling,” Julian said smoothly.
“I’m glad you brought the boy here safely.”
One of Julian’s attorneys, a bald man in a three-piece charcoal suit, pushed a blue-bound legal folio across the table.
“Captain Ramos, your audio tape is legally inadmissible pursuant to state wiretapping statutes,” the lawyer stated coldly.
“Furthermore, Mr. Sterling did not kidnap this child.”
“Mr. Sterling was the lawful private guardian who placed the boy in confidential medical fosterage eight years ago.”
Sophia’s breath caught in her throat.
“Confidential fosterage?” she choked out.
“You threw him into an unheated cellar!”
Julian leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his eyes turning to cold obsidian.
“According to the official state records filed this afternoon, Sophia, you were declared medically incompetent due to severe postpartum psychosis eight years ago.”
“I assumed sole legal and physical custody under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act.”
Julian looked up at Commissioner Vance, tapping the blue folio with his gold pen.
“The boy belongs to me, Commissioner.”
“My wife is experiencing an acute psychological breakdown.”
“I am formally requesting that the child be returned to my custody immediately, and that Mrs. Sterling be remanded to a private psychiatric facility for clinical evaluation.”
Commissioner Vance looked at the documents, then up at Sophia’s wild, disheveled appearance.
The commissioner slowly reached for his signature stamp.
“Mrs. Sterling,” the commissioner said quietly, avoiding her eyes.
“The paper trail is legally airtight.”
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“Unless you have verified, uncorrupted genetic evidence to rebut this filing, I have no choice but to release the minor to his lawful father.”
What explosive evidence did Toby pull from the pocket of Frank’s jacket that shattered Julian’s defense?
