Chapter 4 - The Shockwave
Before Diane could launch into another elite tirade, the heavy oak front doors of the mansion were pushed open. Two uniformed police officers walked into the foyer, followed by a detective in a trench coat.
Chloe panicked, backing up against the kitchen cabinets. "Julian, what is this? What did you do?"
"Detective Harris," I said, stepping forward. "Thank you for coming so quickly."
The detective looked at my sister and mother with utter disgust. "Diane Vance and Chloe Vance? We have an arrest warrant for felony child endangerment, conspiracy to commit domestic abuse, and assault."
"This is absurd!" Diane shrieked, her voice cracking as an officer stepped forward with handcuffs. "Do you know who I am? My late husband funded your precinct's charity gala! You can't touch me!"
"We have the off-site security footage, ma'am," Detective Harris said coldly. "We watched your daughter strike a nursing mother. We watched you withhold medical care from a six-week-old infant while his temperature hit lethal levels. Handcuff them."
Chloe began to sob hysterically as the cold steel clicked around her manicured wrists. "Julian, please! It was an accident! She fell! I didn't mean to hurt her!"
"You broke her phone, Chloe. You took her keys. You left my son to burn in his crib," I said, turning my back on them as they were marched out the front door in full view of the entire neighborhood.
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By noon, the story had hit the local news. The headlines were savage: “Billionaire CEO’s Mother and Sister Arrested for Shocking Abuse of Newborn Heir.” The public outcry was instantaneous. Social media flooded with support for Elena, and the prestigious high-society circles my mother had spent her entire life brown-nosed instantly slammed their doors in her face.
But the battle wasn't over. My mother’s high-priced defense lawyers immediately began filing motions, attempting to paint the security footage as an invasion of privacy and trying to blackmail me into dropping the charges by threatening to expose private family finances to the press.
