Chapter 5 - The Raid
Julian was slammed face-first against the marble floor of the foyer, his hands violently wrenched behind his back.
"What are you doing?!" Beatrice shrieked as a female officer grabbed her arms, forcing the cold steel cuffs onto her wrists. "I am a prominent member of this community! You cannot treat us like criminals!"
"Save it for the judge, lady," the detective sneered.
Behind the police, a forensics team filed into the house. They didn't head for Julian's office or the safe. They marched directly to the backyard.
Elena had provided the police with satellite imagery she had pulled using her old clearance, alongside the agonizing, high-resolution photographs she had taken of Leo’s chained neck and the filthy doghouse before they fled.
When the detective walked out to the patio and saw the heavy metal choke chain still lying in the mud, next to the rotting chicken bones and the wooden crate, his face hardened with absolute disgust.
"Take pictures of all of it," the detective ordered the forensics team. "Bag that chain. Test the doghouse for human DNA and urine. I want these monsters locked up for the rest of their miserable lives."
They dragged Julian and Beatrice out of the house in front of the entire neighborhood. The wealthy elite of Charleston stood on their manicured lawns, watching in horrified silence as the Vances were shoved into the back of a squad car.
Chloe, crying hysterically, was left standing in the doorway with her baby. The police didn't arrest her for the abuse, but she was entirely alone, broke, and homeless. The estate was locked down as a crime scene.
From a black SUV parked down the street, Elena watched the entire scene unfold through tinted windows.
Her phone buzzed. It was Marcus.
May you like
"Target is in custody. Estate is secured," he reported.
"Good," Elena said, her voice finally losing its cold edge, replaced by a bone-deep exhaustion. "Now, I go back to being a mother."
