Chapter 3 - The Interrogation Tape
Twenty-four hours later, I sat inside a private consultation room at the Charleston Police Department alongside Detective Marcus Reed and my personal litigation attorney, Sarah Lin.
Detective Reed pulled up a digital video monitor mounted on the wall, tapping his tablet to initiate playback.
"This is the recording from Interrogation Room B, taken three hours ago," Detective Reed explained. "Lauren’s public defender attempted to claim the lye was a commercial mix-up by the venue staff. We presented her with the utility closet footage."
The video flickered to life.
On the screen, Lauren sat across a metal table wearing a orange inmate jumpsuit, her dark hair unwashed, her eyes wide, red, and bloodshot. Her husband, Tyler, sat behind her in a tailored navy suit, looking at his wife with a expression of pure, unadulterated horror.
On the screen, Detective Reed pushed two high-definition photos across the table: one showing the yellow gallon jug of industrial floor stripper in the closet, and another showing a high-resolution screenshot of Lauren pouring the liquid into a champagne glass.
"Lauren," Detective Reed’s voice on the recording spoke calmly. "The utility closet was locked. The keycard access log shows your bridesmaid badge unlocked that door at 8:14 PM. Why were you in the utility closet with a cocktail glass?"
Lauren stared at the photos. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
"It... it was a joke!" Lauren stammered on the tape, her voice cracking hysterical. "I just wanted to spoil her dress! She was wearing that pale lavender gown—she knew lavender was my secondary accent color! She was trying to outshine me at my own reception!"
Tyler stood up from his chair on the recording, his chair scraping violently against the concrete floor. "You wanted to spoil her dress with floor stripper?!"
"She took Dad's toast away from me, Tyler!" Lauren shrieked, turning toward her husband with a wild, terrifying glare. "Dad stood up in front of two hundred people and talked about how 'brave and selfless' Claire was for taking Mom to her chemo treatments! It was MY wedding! Nobody was supposed to be talking about Claire!"
"She was driving Mom to chemo while you were in Cabo for your bachelorette party!" Tyler shouted back, clutching his head in his hands. "You threw lye at your sister's face over a toast?!"
"I didn't know it was lye!" Lauren screamed, thrashing against her handcuffs. "I thought it was just heavy vinegar! I wanted her skin to break out so she’d look ugly in the wedding photos!"
Detective Reed paused the video, freezing Lauren’s face on the monitor—a picture of pure, unhinged, narcissistic fury.
Attorney Sarah Lin looked at me, then at Detective Reed.
"That video statement is a full confession of premeditated assault with a deadly agent," Sarah stated cleanly. "We are filing a civil lawsuit for five million dollars in personal injury, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and permanent disfigurement."
Detective Reed nodded grimly. "The Solicitor’s Office has upgraded her charges to Felony Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature with Malicious Intent. She’s looking at ten to twenty years in state prison."
I looked at the frozen image of my sister on the screen.
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She hadn't accidentally picked up the wrong glass. She had walked into a locked utility closet, selected a chemical she hoped would disfigure my face, and thrown it at me because our father thanked me for taking our sick mother to the hospital.
"Do not accept any plea deals, Sarah," I said, my voice steady and cold. "Let her explain her joke to a jury."
