Chapter 5 - THE RAID
The police officers didn't knock softly.
Two detectives from the Westchester County Sheriff’s Department walked up the front path, holding a warrant for the seizure of physical evidence, including the tiara, production hard drives, and personal communication devices.
Sarah, Bellamy, and I got out of the Lexus and stood near the end of the driveway, watching the drama unfold.
My mother’s Cadillac pulled up to the curb moments later. Laurel Ward practically leaped out of the vehicle, her hair uncharacteristically messy, her face pale with terror.
"Sloan!" Mom screamed, rushing toward me. "What have you done?! What did you post?!"
"The truth, Mom," I said smoothly, keeping my hands folded in front of my blazer.
"They're inside Delaney's house! They're taking her computers!" Mom hysterically grabbed my arm. "She has brand deals with Nordics, with Sephora! They'll cancel her contracts! She'll lose everything!"
"She committed felony assault with a modified weapon, Laurel," Sarah Klein interrupted, stepping between my mother and me. "And as of twenty minutes ago, the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau has opened an investigation into the Ward Family Living Trust for child financial exploitation."
Mom looked like she had been slapped. She stumbled back against her car door, clutching her chest.
"You... you called the Attorney General on your own family?" Mom gasped.
"You gave me an ultimatum yesterday, Mom," I reminded her. "You told me to sign away June's inheritance or you'd ruin my clinical career. I chose option three: exposing yours."
The front door of Delaney’s mansion flew open.
Two deputies escorted Marin, the maid of honor, down the steps in handcuffs. She was crying hysterically, her designer makeup smeared across her cheeks.
"It wasn't my idea!" Marin shrieked toward the officers. "Delaney told me to do it! She said Sloan wouldn't press charges because she's a therapist and cares about her reputation! Delaney bought the wire at Home Depot! Check her Amazon account!"
Delaney followed behind them, accompanied by her husband Hayes and two corporate lawyers who looked like they were already planning their resignations. Delaney was crying—not the soft, beautiful tears she used for her camera, but ugly, furious, terrified sobs.
When her eyes locked onto mine across the driveway, her expression twisted into pure hatred.
"You ruined my life!" Delaney screamed at me over the hood of a police cruiser. "I made this family! I paid for everything! You're nothing! You're an old, jealous bitch who lives in a apartment!"
"I'm an old, jealous bitch with seven stitches and an intact bank account," I replied, my voice steady as stone. "Enjoy arraignment, Delaney."
As the police cars pulled away, taking Delaney and Marin into custody, my father’s sedan pulled up behind Mom’s Cadillac.
Thatcher Ward stepped out of the vehicle. He didn't yell. He didn't accuse. He looked at the empty driveway, then at me, then at the thick white tape near my hairline.
"Sloan," my father said, his voice broken and hollow. "Is it true? About Clara's trust?"
"You were the primary trustee, Dad," I said softly, looking at him with deep pity. "Did you even check the statements before you signed what Delaney put in front of you?"
Dad closed his eyes. Tears tracked down the deep lines of his face. "I trusted them... I thought Delaney was managing it for June's future..."
May you like
"You trusted them because it was easier than standing up to them," I said. "Just like you let them drive wire into my scalp."
I turned my back on my parents, got into Bellamy's Lexus, and closed the door.
