McLean sat silently in the interrogation room, her arms crossed and her jaw set, refusing to talk. She had been stonewalling for nearly an hour, not giving any useful information despite the team's best efforts. Lucas and Leo watched from behind the one-way mirror, growing frustrated with every passing minute.
"She's not going to crack like this," Leo muttered, rubbing his temples.
Lucas sighed. "We need something different. She's clearly not intimidated by the usual routine."
That’s when Bella stepped forward, adjusting her lab coat as she glanced at them both. "Let me try," she said firmly.
Leo raised an eyebrow. "You? Are you sure?"
"I’ve got a method that might work," Bella replied, her voice steady. "But it’s not exactly... by the book."
Lucas and Leo exchanged a quick glance before nodding in agreement. "We’ve got nothing to lose. Go ahead," Lucas said.
Bella entered the interrogation room, closing the door behind her. McLean barely looked up, her defiance clear as she glared across the table. Bella didn’t sit. Instead, she calmly removed her lab coat, folded it, and placed it on the table. Then, without warning, she kicked the table violently to the side, sending a loud crash echoing through the room. The suddenness of it jolted McLean, her eyes widening as Bella stormed towards her.
In a flash, Bella grabbed McLean by the front of her blouse, pushing her back hard against the wall. "You think this is a game?" Bella growled, her face inches from McLean’s. "You think you’re going to sit here and give us nothing while your little gang buddies clean up after your mess?"
McLean tried to shove her off, but Bella’s grip only tightened. "You're going to *talk*, or I’ll make sure you're not walking out of this room without every secret you’ve been hiding."
McLean’s bravado cracked for the first time, her eyes darting around the room as if looking for an escape. "I don’t know anything!" she spat, her voice less sure than before.
Bella slammed her against the wall again, more forceful this time. "Wrong answer! I know you know what happened to the major. You were in it deep with him. He trusted you. You’re just as involved in this as he was."
McLean’s breathing quickened, and for a moment, it looked like she might resist. But Bella’s fierce expression, the raw force of her anger, finally broke through. "Alright!" McLean gasped. "Alright, I’ll talk!"
Bella released her grip slightly, though she stayed close, maintaining the pressure. McLean slumped a little, her tough exterior dissolving as she started to speak.
“The major... he was into some serious stuff,” McLean admitted, her voice shaking. "He was dealing with some dangerous people. They were scared he’d flip, so they poisoned him before anything could happen. I swear I didn’t know they’d kill him like that."
Behind the glass, Leo smirked, impressed by Bella's unorthodox approach. Lucas chuckled quietly, shaking his head in disbelief. "Well, that worked."
Bella stepped back from McLean, letting her sink into the chair as she continued to spill the details. "It wasn’t supposed to go this far. He was in over his head with the Reapers. They’ve been running operations under the radar for years, dealing drugs, weapons, you name it. When they thought the major was going to turn on them, they got rid of him."
"And the poison?" Bella pressed.
"They laced his food," McLean admitted. "He used to eat at a place downtown—local spot. They slipped it in there."
Bella glanced at the mirror, nodding for the others to enter. Leo and Lucas walked in, both of them looking at McLean, who was slumped over, defeated.
"You did good," Leo said to Bella, his smile widening. "Real good."
YOU ARE READING
An Unforgiving Love
Storie d'amoreCaptain Lucas Morani has just returned home after five grueling years of military service in Iraq, his mind constantly occupied by thoughts of the woman he left behind. But when he arrives to find his girlfriend has moved on with his own brother, th...
