Chapter 3 - The Arrest
While I was giving my statement, a second team of officers was out in the waiting room with my family.
Through the crack in the ER door, I heard the commotion.
"Get your hands off my daughter!" Mom shrieked, her voice echoing down the sterile hallway.
I craned my neck. Vanessa was being pushed against the reception desk by a female officer. For the first time in nineteen years, the golden child wasn't looking so golden. She was crying hysterically, her perfect makeup running down her face in thick, black streaks.
"You can't arrest me! I'm a college student! I have a future!" Vanessa screamed as the heavy steel cuffs clicked around her wrists.
"You're an adult who committed felony aggravated assault against a minor," the arresting officer stated flatly. "You have the right to remain silent. I highly suggest you use it."
Dad was physically restrained by two other cops. "She's just a kid! They were fighting! You're ruining her life over a sisterly spat!"
Detective Miller walked out of my room and approached my parents.
May you like
"David and Susan Hayes," Miller said loudly. "Your eldest daughter is being booked for felony assault. As for you two, CPS is officially stripping you of your custody rights to Clara, effective immediately. You are also under active investigation for child endangerment and medical neglect. Do not attempt to contact Clara. If you do, I will personally arrest you for witness intimidation."
Vanessa was dragged out the sliding glass doors into the night. My parents stood there, utterly destroyed, realizing that their carefully constructed illusion of a perfect family had just been burned to the ground.
