Chapter 7 - The Arrest
"Police! Nobody move! Put your hands in the air!" Officer Miller barked, drawing his Taser while Deputy Brooks moved swiftly to cut off the hallway.
Paige froze like a deer caught in high beams. Her eyes darted from the uniformed officers to me, her fingers instinctively tightening around the blue envelope.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Marla came marching out of the master bedroom, wearing Nora’s expensive silk bathrobe that my wife had saved for months to buy. "Ryan! What have you done?! You brought armed thugs into your own family's house?!"
"This is not your house, Marla," Officer Miller commanded, his voice ringing with authority. "Ma'am, drop whatever is in your hands and step away from the table!"
"He said we could stay here!" Paige shrieked, backing toward the balcony sliding door. "This is a private family dispute! You cops have no jurisdiction here! Ryan gave me this envelope! He gave it to me for my business startup!"
"You lying parasite," I snarled, stepping into the center of the room.
I pointed down at the floor, where tiny pink baby socks, miniature cotton mittens, and sterile pacifiers were scattered across the dirty rug, covered in dust and foam. Right in the middle of the mess lay a tiny baby onesie that Nora had lovingly hand-embroidered with the words Daddy’s Little Girl.
It was stamped with a dirty, greasy boot print where Paige had stepped directly on it while ripping through the bag.
The last microscopic shred of pity I had for the people who shared my DNA evaporated into pure, cold air.
"Officer Miller," I said, my voice eerily calm and deliberate. "That envelope contains a cashier's check for twenty-five thousand dollars made out to Ryan Mercer. It was hidden inside my child's diaper bag. I never gave her permission to touch it. I want to press every single charge the state allows. Grand larceny. Felony theft. Destruction of property. And aggravated assault on my pregnant wife."
"Assault?!" Paige’s face distorted into a mask of pure, ugly rage. She threw the blue envelope onto the floor and pointed a manicured finger at me. "I never touched that useless little bitch! Nora made the whole thing up because she’s a pathetic, manipulative orphan who wants to steal you away from your real family! She threw herself into the dresser just to make me look bad!"
"That's enough," Officer Miller said coldly. He grabbed Paige’s arm, spun her around, and shoved her face-first against the wall.
Click-clack.
The sharp, metallic ratcheting of steel handcuffs echoed loudly in the silent room.
"Get your hands off my daughter!" Marla screamed, lunging forward with her fingernails extended toward Miller’s face. "You touch her again and I’ll sue the entire department! Ryan, tell them to stop! Tell them right now!"
Before Marla could lay a finger on Miller, Deputy Brooks grabbed her from behind, sweeping her legs out and pinning her flat against the linoleum.
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"Marla Mercer, you are under arrest for assaulting a police officer and obstruction of justice!" Brooks yelled, wrestling her flailing arms behind her back and snapping a second pair of cuffs onto her wrists.
The room erupted into absolute chaos. Tessa and Brooke were cowering in the corner by the television, screaming and crying hysterically as their mother shrieked obscenities that made the wallpaper peel.
