Chapter 10 - The Fall of the House of Peterson
The internet does not forgive child abusers.
Within twenty minutes of the video being uploaded, the Peterson narrative didn't just crack—it shattered into dust.
Megan’s comment section, which had previously been filled with messages of support, turned into an absolute slaughterhouse. Over forty thousand comments flooded her profile in under an hour.
*“She slapped a five-year-old over a shoe?!”*
*“Lock this psycho up!”*
*“Her mother-in-law should have hit her ten more times!”*
*“Look at the husband standing there doing nothing! What kind of father locks his kid outside in freezing weather?!”*
By 7:00 PM, luxury apparel brands began issuing emergency public statements severing all ties with Maison Megan.
*“Nordstrom Rack has terminated all wholesale distribution negotiations with Megan Peterson effective immediately.”*
*“Revolve condemns any form of violence against children and has ceased all brand partnerships with @MaisonMegan.”*
At 7:30 PM, two squad cars from the Chicago Police Department, accompanied by an emergency investigator from the Department of Children and Family Services, pulled up to the Lincoln Park brownstone.
A local neighborhood blogger was streaming live from the sidewalk.
Thousands of viewers watched in real-time as Megan Peterson was escorted out of the brownstone in handcuffs, sobbing uncontrollably with a coat draped over her wrists, charged with felony aggravated battery of a minor.
Moments later, Frank Peterson emerged onto the porch, shouting at the officers, his face purple with rage. When he shoved a female officer who ordered him to step back, two patrolmen brought him down onto the limestone steps, cuffing him for assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
Inside the estate, Mark was facing his own execution.
His firm, a prestigious architectural consultancy that relied heavily on public sector contracts and moral integrity clauses, held an emergency executive board meeting after Mark's face was broadcast on every local news network as "The Coward Father of Chicago."
At 8:15 PM, Mark received an email informing him that he had been suspended indefinitely without pay, and that his corporate email and security clearance had been revoked pending an internal ethics investigation.
My phone rang.
It wasn't a text this time. It was a call from the Cook County jail.
I pressed speaker.
"Chloe?" Eleanor Peterson’s voice wailed through the receiver, trembling with hysterical panic. "Chloe, please! They arrested Frank! They arrested Megan! She's in a holding cell with criminals! Frank is having chest pains! Mark is sitting in the dark drinking himself to death! Please, I beg you, drop the charges! We'll do anything! We'll get on our knees and beg Lily for forgiveness!"
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"Eleanor," I said softly, the chill in my voice freezing the line. "Tell Frank that his thirty-day eviction notice has been reduced to seven days due to illegal activity and criminal arrests occurring on the premises. Have your bags packed by next Friday."
I ended the call before she could scream.
