Chapter 8 - Clara’s Meltdown
Two days later, I was discharged from the hospital with a heavy chest brace and a prescription for high-strength painkillers. I decided to stay at a secure boutique hotel in Columbus, far away from the prying eyes of Maple Ridge.
But the Hales were not going to let me walk away quietly.
At 2:00 PM, my head receptionist at the Maple Ridge clinic, Kelly, called my private line, her voice trembling. "Dr. Carter? Clara Hale is here in the lobby. She’s... she’s making a massive scene. She’s screaming at the patients in the waiting room, telling them you’re a heartless monster who locked up her elderly mother."
"Did you call security, Kelly?" I asked, my blood running cold.
"Yes, but she’s refusing to leave! She’s throwing our promotional brochures on the floor and filming the staff with her phone. She’s telling everyone that this clinic is built on stolen family money!"
"Keep the clinical bay doors locked," I ordered. "Do not let her near the patients or the treatment rooms. I am pulling up the security cameras right now."
I opened my laptop and logged into the clinic’s live security feed. Clara was pacing the lobby, her face flushed red, shouting at an elderly patient who looked terrified.
"Evelyn Carter is a fraud!" Clara yelled, waving her phone in the air. "She’s using her money to destroy my family! My mother is a lady! She would never hurt anyone!"
Within minutes, two local police officers arrived. Because of the high-profile nature of Margaret’s arrest, the officers knew exactly who Clara was.
"Ma'am, you need to step outside," the first officer said, grabbing Clara’s arm.
"Don't touch me!" Clara shrieked, kicking a display stand. "I’m filming this! Evelyn is a psycho! She’s trying to ruin us!"
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They handcuffed her on the spot, charging her with disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, and violating the emergency protection order Marcus had secured the morning before.
Watching her get led out of my clinic in handcuffs, still screaming, was a stark reminder of how deep their entitlement ran. They truly believed that my money belonged to them, and that my attempt to protect my life was an act of war against their birthright.
