Chapter 5 - The Takedown
For three agonizing seconds, Daniel stared at me, his brain struggling to comprehend what I had just said. He looked at my chest, then up at my eyes, the realization dawning on him like a slow-moving train.
"You..." he stammered, raising his hand. "You little bitch, what did you do?"
He lunged for me.
He didn't make it.
The front door exploded open with a deafening crash as a battering ram shattered the deadbolt. Glass flew across the entryway.
"POLICE! GET ON THE GROUND! GET ON THE GROUND NOW!"
Three sheriff's deputies swarmed into the living room, their weapons drawn. Daniel spun around in sheer terror. He took one step toward the kitchen, but a deputy tackled him around the waist, sending his massive body crashing through the glass coffee table.
Daniel screamed as his face pressed into the carpet, his arms wrenched violently behind his back. The sharp click-click of handcuffs echoed through the room.
"Daniel!" my mother shrieked, dropping to her knees. "What are you doing? Let him go! Claire, tell them to stop!"
My supervisor, Agent Miller, stepped through the broken doorway. He flashed his federal credentials at my mother.
"Evelyn Vance," Miller said coldly. "You are under arrest for accessory to aggravated assault, felony neglect of a vulnerable adult, and wire fraud."
A female deputy grabbed my mother by the arms, hoisting her to her feet and slapping cuffs on her wrists. My mother sobbed hysterically, her perfect silk robe tearing at the shoulder. She looked at me, her makeup running down her face in dark, ugly streaks.
"Claire! How could you do this to your own mother? I gave you life!" she wailed.
I walked over to her. I felt no pity. I felt no sorrow. I only saw the dent in the refrigerator and the blood on the floor.
"You gave me life," I said softly. "But you sold Maya's. You watched him break her face, and you called it a scratch. Enjoy prison, Mom."
As they dragged Daniel out the door, he thrashed against the deputies, locking eyes with me. "This isn't over! I'll kill you! I'll kill both of you!"
"You're going to a federal penitentiary for defrauding the government, Daniel," I called after him. "It's entirely over."
May you like
The house fell silent, save for the crackle of police radios. I walked into the kitchen, grabbed a heavy iron skillet, and smashed it directly into the dent on the refrigerator.
It was a small, petty gesture. But God, it felt good.
