Chapter 9 - The Courthouse Witness
The courthouse employee arrived at the police station under escort less than forty-five minutes after Detective Susan Ortega received the call. Every few seconds she glanced over her shoulder as if expecting someone to appear behind her.
Her name was Hannah Pierce.
She had worked in the Family Court Clerk's Office for nearly nine years.
Rachel sat quietly in the interview room beside Officer Marcus Hale, still unable to believe how quickly the investigation had changed. Just that morning she had expected to lose her children. Now detectives were uncovering what appeared to be a carefully organized conspiracy.
Detective Ortega placed a recorder on the table.
"For the record, state your name."
"Hannah Pierce."
"And why did you contact police?"
Hannah took a deep breath.
"Because someone altered court records."
The room fell silent.
Officer Hale leaned forward.
"Start from the beginning."
Hannah nodded slowly.
"Judge Collins reviewed Rachel Carter's emergency custody request three days ago. He rejected it. I know because I prepared the paperwork myself."
Rachel closed her eyes.
"So... I wasn't imagining it."
"No."
Hannah looked directly at her.
"The judge specifically wrote that there wasn't enough evidence to remove your children without a full hearing."
Detective Ortega slid the forged order across the table.
"Have you ever seen this document?"
Hannah immediately recognized it.
"That's not the version we filed."
"What is different?"
She pointed to several sections.
"The case number is correct, but the approval code isn't. The electronic filing stamp is fake. The judge's signature has been copied from another document."
Officer Hale asked the question everyone was thinking.
"Who had access to the original files?"
Hannah hesitated.
"Only a few people."
"Names."
"My supervisor... two senior clerks... the court's IT administrator..."
She swallowed.
"...and Assistant Court Administrator Steven Marshall."
Detective Ortega wrote the name down.
"Why didn't you report this sooner?"
"I tried."
Rachel looked up.
"Tried?"
Hannah nodded.
"This morning I discovered Rachel's file had disappeared from the digital archive."
Everyone looked at one another.
"Deleted?"
"No."
"Moved?"
"I couldn't tell."
She lowered her voice.
"When I asked my supervisor about it, he told me to forget I had ever seen the file."
Officer Hale frowned.
"What exactly did he say?"
Hannah repeated his words from memory.
> "If you want to keep your job, stop asking questions."
Rachel felt a chill run through her body.
This wasn't just one dishonest father anymore.
Someone inside the courthouse was actively helping him.
Before the interview could continue, another detective knocked sharply on the door.
"Marcus."
"What is it?"
"The Digital Forensics Unit finished examining the flash drives from the warehouse."
Everyone immediately stood.
"Already?"
"They found hundreds of files."
Officer Hale looked toward Rachel.
"You should prepare yourself."
"Why?"
The detective's expression turned grim.
May you like
"Because your name wasn't the only one they found."
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