Emily looked straight at Jason, her uninjured eye cold and steady.

“I didn’t lose my phone, Jason,” she said, her voice dropping into a razor-thin calm.

“You took my personal phone.”

“You forgot about the emergency device Mom gave me when I moved out.”

Jason’s face turned completely white.

“The entire two hours you kept me locked in that room…” Emily continued.

“The audio was streaming directly to a secure server.”

“Every threat.”

“Every laugh.”

“Every single word you, your mother, and Derek said.”

Evelyn’s diamond-adorned hand flew to her throat.

Derek stepped forward, his voice cracking with sudden panic.

“That’s illegal! You can’t record people without consent!”

One of the men in dark suits stepped into the room.

He pulled a gold badge from his jacket pocket and held it out.

“Special Agent Miller, State Bureau of Investigation,” he announced calmly.

“Under state law, one-party consent applies to felony domestic abuse and unlawful confinement investigations.”

He looked directly at Derek.

“And we’ve been listening to the live feed for the last ninety minutes.”

Jason took another step back, hitting the medical cart behind him with a loud metallic crash.

“Agent, listen to me,” Evelyn stammered, her cool composure shattering into frantic pieces.

“This is a private family dispute! My husband knows the District Attorney—”

“Your husband’s friend, the DA, was recused thirty minutes ago, ma’am,” Agent Miller interrupted smoothly.

“The State Attorney General’s office has taken direct jurisdiction of this case.”

He gestured toward the hallway.

Two uniformed Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers stepped past the door frame, a pair of steel handcuffs dangling from their belts.

“Jason Bennett,” Agent Miller said.

“You are under arrest for felony domestic assault, second-degree kidnapping, and witness intimidation.”