Chapter 2 - The Hidden Trap
My eyes scanned the horrible document while my heart pounded violently in my chest.
The ink signature at the bottom of the page undeniably belonged to my daughter.
"Maya, what in the world did you sign?" I asked while fighting to keep my voice steady.
Tears spilled over her pale cheeks as she looked down at the broken plates on the floor.
"He told me it was just standard tax paperwork for his new business venture," Maya sobbed softly.
Ethan yanked the paper away and tucked it safely back into his pocket.
"Ignorance is not a valid legal defense in a court of law, Eleanor," he mocked me.
Beatrice smiled wickedly and picked up her crystal wine glass again.
"I told you that you raised a foolish and useless little girl," Beatrice chimed in gleefully.
My mind raced rapidly as I calculated the quickest way to neutralize this threat.
I needed a brilliant defense lawyer and I needed one immediately.
"You forged her intent to trap her in this miserable marriage," I stated coldly.
"Prove it to a judge," Ethan challenged while tightening his painful grip on Maya’s arm.
I reached into my coat to pull my phone back out to dial my legal team.
Before I could unlock the screen, Beatrice suddenly moved with terrifying speed.
She swung a heavy brass candlestick right at my hand.
The solid metal smashed into my knuckles and sent my phone clattering across the kitchen tile.
Pain exploded up my arm but I firmly refused to give them the satisfaction of a scream.
Maya shrieked and tried to pull away from Ethan to help me.
He roughly shoved her backward until she slammed hard into the marble kitchen counter.
"You have completely overstepped your boundaries tonight, mother-in-law," Ethan said with a dangerous edge to his voice.
Beatrice calmly walked over to the front door and turned the heavy deadbolt lock.
She pulled the silver key from the lock and dropped it right down her blouse.
"No one is leaving this house until we come to a highly profitable financial understanding," Beatrice announced cheerfully.
"You are committing felony false imprisonment," I reminded them while cradling my injured hand.
Ethan picked up my phone from the floor and dropped it directly into the sink full of soapy water.
The digital screen flickered violently and then went completely dark.
"We are just having a private family negotiation," Ethan smiled while slowly walking toward me.
He pulled open a kitchen drawer and took out a long coil of heavy plastic zip ties.
"And negotiations go much smoother when everyone is forced to sit still," Ethan added menacingly.
He lunged at me with the thick plastic restraints ready in his hands.
I quickly sidestepped his attack and grabbed a heavy cast-iron skillet from the stovetop.
I swung it as hard as I could and struck him squarely in the ribs.
Ethan gasped in total agony and stumbled backward into the dining table.
Beatrice screamed in rage and charged at me with the brass candlestick raised high in the air.
Suddenly, the deafening sound of police sirens echoed loudly outside the house.
Bright red and blue lights flashed brilliantly through the freezing kitchen window.
I felt a massive wave of pure relief wash over my tired body.
My property manager must have called the police exactly as I instructed him to do.
The heavy front door was suddenly kicked violently off its hinges.
"Police department, drop your weapons right now!" a loud voice commanded from the hallway.
I instantly dropped the skillet and raised my hands high in the air.
Ethan suddenly grabbed a sharp kitchen knife from the counter and sliced his own arm wide open.
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He dropped the bloody knife next to Maya and fell to his knees in a pool of his own blood.
"Help me, my crazy wife just tried to murder me!" Ethan screamed in fake agony.
