Chapter 13 - MY BADGE BECAME THEIR DEFENSE
Victor’s attorneys attacked me.
Not the evidence.
Me.
The funeral badge display.
My involvement.
My relationship with Elena.
They argued the investigation had been poisoned by grief.
I knew it was coming.
Internal Affairs interviewed me for twelve hours over three days.
Did I access unauthorized files?
No.
Did I pressure witnesses?
No.
Did I direct searches after recusal?
No.
Did I show Victor my badge at the funeral?
Yes.
“Why?”
I answered honestly.
“Because I wanted him to know Elena was not alone anymore.”
Not my most professional moment.
But not a crime.
The department issued a written reprimand for aspects of my conduct at the funeral.
I accepted it.
Victor’s lawyers celebrated publicly.
FEDERAL AGENT DISCIPLINED IN LANGLEY CASE.
They hoped the headline would taint everything.
It didn’t.
Because evidence did not originate with me.
Elena’s recordings.
Bank records.
Hospital audit logs.
Cleaning invoices.
Traffic cameras.
Victor’s insurance changes.
Andrew’s accounts.
Bianca’s phone.
The smart speaker.
Sophie’s nursery camera.
My badge did not create any of it.
Victor had.
Andrew had.
Elena had preserved it.
Mark Ellis said,
“You know what bothers them most?”
“What?”
“They spent weeks building a case around you.”
“They should have built one around the evidence.”
I smiled faintly.
“They learned from Victor.”
Then came my lowest moment.
My mother had a heart attack.
Mild.
The doctors said stress likely contributed.
I sat beside her hospital bed feeling as though Victor had found another way to hurt us.
She woke and immediately complained about the coffee.
That was how I knew she would survive.
“Mom.”
“What?”
“You scared me.”
“You scare me every day for a living.”
“I investigate spreadsheets.”
“With a gun.”
“Usually not simultaneously.”
She smiled.
Then looked toward the window.
“I miss Elena.”
“So do I.”
“I keep thinking I should have made her leave.”
My throat tightened.
“We all have versions of that sentence.”
My mother looked at me.
“Stop carrying hers.”
“What?”
“Her choices.”
“She loved Victor.”
“She hoped.”
“She was afraid.”
“She tried.”
“You cannot turn her death into a punishment for everyone who failed to predict it.”
I began crying.
My mother reached for my hand.
“Elena knew who you were.”
“She hid those drives because she knew you would find them.”
“That is not the same as asking you to spend the rest of your life angry.”
I understood.
Not immediately.
But the words stayed.
Victor had already taken Elena.
If I allowed him to turn me into nothing but the woman hunting him—
he would take part of me too.
That evening, the grand jury returned indictments.
Victor Langley.
Andrew Vale.
Multiple financial and obstruction counts.
And homicide-related charges in Elena’s death.
Victor was arrested at his attorney’s office.
Andrew was already in federal custody.
Cameras captured Victor walking down the courthouse steps in handcuffs.
He saw me behind the barrier.
For one second, our eyes met.
The same man who had whispered at the funeral,
Don’t do anything stupid today.
Now he said nothing.
I did not smile.
I did not celebrate.
I simply watched.
May you like
Because arrest was not justice.
Not yet.
