Chapter 4 - The Legal Trap
The morning sun brought no comfort, only the harsh reality of our desperate situation.
I spent the night sitting in a chair by the bedroom door with a baseball bat in my lap.
At eight o'clock sharp, the doorbell rang.
I looked out the window and saw a sleek black luxury sedan parked in my driveway.
Arthur stood on the porch, but this time he wasn't wearing wet clothes or screaming threats.
He wore a pristine navy suit, and a stern-looking woman with a leather briefcase stood beside him.
I opened the door just enough to block their view of the interior.
“What do you want, Arthur?” I demanded, gripping the handle tightly.
“I’m here for my children, Charles,” he said, his voice dripping with fake concern.
“This is my attorney, Ms. Vance.”
The woman held up a manila folder with a cold, professional smile.
“Mr. Davis, my client has filed an emergency order for temporary custody,” the lawyer stated.
“Given your advanced age and history of high blood pressure, the court has serious concerns about your ability to provide a safe home.”
I stared at Arthur in pure disbelief.
“You publicly abandoned them at their mother's funeral yesterday!” I spat at him.
“There were two hundred witnesses who heard you say you didn't want them.”
Arthur sighed dramatically, putting his hand to his chest like a wounded saint.
“I was blinded by grief, Charles,” he lied smoothly.
“I said foolish things out of sorrow, but I have realized my daughters belong with me.”
Ms. Vance pushed the folder toward me.
“If you do not surrender the children by noon tomorrow, the police will forcibly remove them from these premises,” she warned.
“And you will face kidnapping charges.”
They turned around and walked back to the luxury car, leaving me completely trapped.
Arthur didn't want the girls; he just wanted to get them back to his house so he could find the hidden envelope.
He knew they were the only ones who knew where Rose had hidden the flash drive.
I closed the door and leaned against it, feeling the heavy weight of the law crushing me.
Lucy was standing at the bottom of the stairs, having heard every word.
“He’s going to take us back to that terrible house,” she whispered, her eyes wide with fear.
“No, he isn't,” I said, making the most dangerous decision of my life.
“We have until noon tomorrow before the police get involved.”
I walked over to the closet and pulled out my heavy winter coat.
“We are going to break into your father's house tonight while he's asleep,” I told her.
“We are getting that envelope, and then we are going straight to the FBI.”
Lucy nodded bravely, but suddenly, the television in the living room switched to the local morning news.
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A breaking news banner flashed across the bottom of the screen with Arthur's face on it.
“Local businessman Arthur Vance reports his three daughters abducted by mentally unstable grandfather,” the news anchor announced.
