Chapter 7 - The Arrest
The weight of Claire’s revelation hit Marianne like a freight train. For eight years, she had bragged to her friends that she had generously "allowed" Claire to go to college and buy a home, taking credit for her daughter's success.
Now, the humiliating truth was exposed in front of the police and her own stepchildren.
"You lied to me!" Dale roared, turning on Marianne with venomous rage. "You told me you owned a share of this house! You told me we were moving into a million-dollar estate!"
"Dale, shut up!" Marianne screamed, turning around in frantic circles. "Claire, you witch! You stole my life! You stole my husband's money!"
Marianne lunged toward the porch, her fingers curled like claws as she aimed for Claire’s face.
"Get back!" Evan shouted, stepping in front of Claire instantly.
Deputy Miller didn't hesitate. He grabbed Marianne’s arm, twisting it behind her back with practiced efficiency, forcing her down onto the hood of the patrol car.
"Marianne Vance, you are under arrest for criminal trespass, attempted assault, and filing a false police report!" Deputy Miller announced loudly, pulling steel handcuffs from his belt.
CLICK. CLICK.
The cold metal snapped tightly around Marianne’s wrists.
"Let me go! You can't arrest me! I'm a senior citizen!" Marianne shrieked, thrashing against the hood of the car as her styled hair fell into a messy tangle over her face. "Brittany! Help me! Call a lawyer!"
Brittany, seeing her mother in handcuffs and realizing there was no free house waiting for her, grabbed her boyfriend's arm and scrambled into the front seat of their beat-up sedan.
"Brittany! Don't leave me!" Marianne screamed as the sedan's engine roared to life, speeding away down the street and leaving Marianne behind without a second thought.
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Dale shoved his hands in his pockets and slunk into the cab of the moving truck, abandoning his wife on the driveway.
👉 Read Part 8 to see the final mic-drop moment between Claire and her mother.
