“Pull yourself together, ma’am,” Miller snarled. In the background of the call, a muffled voice was heard—a younger man was saying something. “Hurry up. We have other files to process. You want to be clear of this or not?”
Evelyn’s hands hovered over the keyboard, her posture hunched, the very picture of defeat. “I’m entering the routing number now,” she whimpered. She began typing, the sound of her keys slow and labored. “It’s a long number. I have to be sure it’s right. My bank… they told me to be careful, but you said you’re with the authorities. I trust you, Officer. You even know my name.” She stopped, letting out a long, shaky sigh. “I’ve entered it. What now? Is it done? Are the passport charges settled?”
“That’s just the verification,” Miller said, his tone shifting. “Now, to finalize the clearance, we need to authorize the transfer of the ‘administrative penalty’ to the federal escrow account. Enter the authorization code from your SMS.”