Chapter 7 - The Arrest
Flashing red and blue lights painted the high vaulted ceilings of the mansion in violent strokes.
Two uniformed officers from the local precinct bounded up the front steps, their hands resting near their duty belts, accompanied by a senior female detective in plainclothes.
“Mr. Vance?” the detective asked, flashing her badge. “I’m Detective Sarah Miller. We received a high-priority domestic endangerment call.”
“Come in, Detective,” Adrian said, stepping aside. “The suspect is in the living room. The victims are upstairs receiving emergency medical attention from our private physician.”
Vanessa stepped into the foyer, desperately trying to pull her composure back together. She smoothed her skirt, wiped her mascara-stained cheeks, and put on a trembling, victimized expression.
“Officers, thank God you’re here,” Vanessa sobbed, clasping her hands together. “My husband has completely lost his mind. He’s threatening me, he’s having his staff fabricate stories, and he’s trying to throw me out of my own home! I am terrified of what he might do to me!”
Detective Miller didn’t even blink. She had seen this performance a hundred times before. “Ma’am, step back from the doorway and keep your hands where we can see them.”
“Adrian, show the detective the monitor,” Adrian told the officer, leading them directly into the great room.
Detective Miller stood in front of the massive display. Adrian pressed play on the console.
For the next four minutes, the room was silent except for the horrifying audio of Vanessa screaming at the children, the physical assault on Lily’s wrist, the reckless handling of baby Noah, and the sickening click of the lock on the doghouse.
When the video finished, Detective Miller turned around. Her eyes were hard, and her jaw was clenched. She looked at the two uniformed officers and gave a single, curt nod.
“Vanessa Vance, turn around and place your hands behind your back.”
“What?! No! You can’t arrest me based on an out-of-context home video!” Vanessa shrieked, backing away toward the kitchen. “I have rights! I want my lawyer! Do you know who my father is? Do you know who my family is in this state?!”
The two officers closed the distance in two quick steps. One officer caught her right arm, while the other secured her left, spinning her around and forcing her wrists together.
Click. Click.
The cold steel handcuffs locked over her manicured wrists.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Detective Miller read off her card, her voice flat and uncompromising. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney…”
“Adrian! Tell them to stop! Adrian!” Vanessa screamed, kicking her legs as the officers marched her toward the front doors. “You’re a monster! You’re ruining my life! I’ll sue you for every penny you have! I’ll make sure you never see peace again!”
Adrian didn’t even look at her as she was dragged down the front steps. He turned to Detective Miller and handed her a high-speed encrypted flash drive.
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“The raw, uncompressed 4K footage from four different camera angles, along with time-stamped system logs showing her attempting to delete the files from the local interface,” Adrian said. “Chain of custody is fully documented.”
Detective Miller took the drive with a solemn nod. “This is an open-and-shut felony case, Mr. Vance. The DA is going to have a field day with this.”
