Chapter 8 - The Departure
Deputy Miller pulled Marianne up from the hood of the patrol car, holding her firmly by the arm as he opened the rear door of the police vehicle.
Marianne was sobbing hysterically now, her mascara running down her cheeks in black streaks, her arrogant posture completely destroyed.
She looked up at Claire, who was standing tall on the porch under the warm glow of the entryway light, holding her newborn daughter safely in her arms.
"Claire... please..." Marianne wept, her voice cracking with desperate, pathetic begging. "Tell him to drop the charges! I'm your mother! You can't let them take me to jail! I have nowhere to sleep tonight!"
Claire stepped to the edge of the porch, looking down at the woman who had tried to steal her child's nursery, degrade her dignity, and destroy her peace.
"You had eight years to be a mother to me, Marianne," Claire said, her voice dropping to a cool, decisive whisper that echoed through the quiet night. "You chose to be a parasite instead."
Claire raised her phone one last time, pointing it toward the moving truck parked in the street.
"This house belongs to a trust," Claire added with absolute authority. "You will never touch it. And if you ever set foot within five hundred feet of my daughter again, I will have the trust's legal team put you away for the rest of your life."
Deputy Miller pushed Marianne into the back seat of the patrol car and slammed the door shut.
The heavy thud echoed across the driveway, cutting off Marianne’s desperate screams once and for all.
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The patrol car pulled away into the darkness, its red and blue lights fading down the suburban street.
👉 Read Part 9 to see what happened in court three weeks later.
