Chapter 1 - THE ARREST
The silence in the grand foyer was so absolute you could hear the blood dripping from my cheek onto the polished marble floor.
Julian’s eyes swept the room, taking in the shattered crystal, my crumpled form, and Preston holding the keys. When Julian’s gaze finally locked onto the blood on my face, the professional composure of a state trooper vanished. He wasn't a cop in that second; he was a terrified, enraged husband.
"Clara!" Julian yelled, dropping to his knees beside me. He pressed his radio mic. "Officer down, requesting immediate EMS at my location. Pregnant female, blunt force trauma to the head, possible premature labor."
"Julian," I gasped, clutching his uniform shirt as another blinding contraction ripped through me. "The baby. It's too early."
"I've got you," he whispered, pressing a clean handkerchief to my bleeding temple.
Preston finally realized what was happening. He tried to drop the keys, but one of the local officers, Deputy Miller, stepped forward. "Preston Vance? You're holding the keys to a vehicle reported stolen at 8:00 AM this morning. Hands behind your back."
Chloe let out an ear-piercing shriek. "Stolen?! My dad gave it to him! You can't arrest my fiancé!"
My father stepped forward, his wealthy-patriarch facade crumbling. "Now, see here, Julian. This is a misunderstanding. I authorized the transfer—"
"You don't own the car, Richard!" Julian roared, his voice shaking the crystal chandelier above us. "You can't authorize a damn thing!" Julian pointed directly at my mother, who was trembling near the buffet table. "Miller, cuff her too. Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a pregnant woman. Read her her rights."
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"Julian, you can't!" my mother screamed as the cold steel clicked around her wrists. "I'm your mother-in-law!"
"You're a criminal," Julian said coldly just as the ambulance sirens wailed in the distance. "And if my wife or my child dies tonight, I'll make sure you never see the outside of a cell."
