Chapter 6 - THE TRAP AT THE PERIMETER
Greg’s head snapped up in sheer panic as my station wagon slammed to a stop inches from his front bumper, blocking his only route of escape.
Through the windshield, I saw Linda shriek, frantically grabbing at Greg’s arm, telling him to put the car in reverse. But there was a low concrete curb behind them and a tall steel fence on either side. They were boxed in completely.
I shifted my car into park, engaged the emergency brake, and stepped out into the cold morning air, locking the doors behind me to protect Chloe, who was still fast asleep in the back.
My father stepped out of the passenger side, his massive frame towering over the small sedan.
I walked directly up to the driver’s side window of Greg’s car.
Greg frantically tried to hide the camera beneath a jacket on the center console, his hands shaking so violently he dropped the lens cap onto the floorboards. Linda pressed herself flat against her passenger seat, pulling her sunglasses down, trying to pretend she wasn't there.
"Roll the window down, Greg," I said, my voice echoing loudly in the quiet parking lot.
"Maya, get out of our way!" Greg shouted through the glass, his voice high-pitched and strained. "We aren't doing anything illegal! We're on a public street!"
"You're fifty feet from the front doors of an elementary school where my children are enrolled," I replied, pointing to the yellow school zone signs posted on the brick wall. "And you are currently violating a Cook County protection order that explicitly includes the children's school as an enforceable zone."
"We weren't near the kids!" Linda screamed from inside, leaning across the console. "We were just taking pictures of the building for Evan's legal defense! You can't stop us from gathering evidence!"
"Taking pictures of my nine-year-old son walking into school isn't evidence, Linda," I said, pulling out my own phone and filming both of their faces clearly through the glass. "It's felony stalking of a minor protected by a restraining order."
Sirens wailed in the distance—high, piercing wails that grew louder with every passing second.
Greg’s face turned gray. "Oh God... Linda, you said the school wasn't on the order! You said the order only applied to the house!"
"Shut up, Greg!" Linda barked, hitting his shoulder.
Within ninety seconds, two Westbridge police cruisers roared into the school lot, their tires screeching on the pavement as they pulled in behind Greg’s car, effectively double-blocking the vehicle.
Deputy Carlson and a local city officer stepped out, their hands resting on their holstered sidearms.
"Driver, step out of the vehicle!" Deputy Carlson ordered, his voice booming across the lot. "Hands where I can see them!"
Greg opened his door slowly, trembling as he stepped out with his hands raised high in the air. "Officer, I was just driving my mother-in-law! I didn't know—"
"Save it for the magistrate, Greg," Deputy Carlson snapped, grabbing his wrist and pushing him against the trunk of the car, snapping steel handcuffs around his wrists. "You were served with a copy of the secondary order at your residence on Saturday morning."
The second officer opened the passenger door and ordered Linda out.
Linda tried to resist, clinging to the seatbelt, screaming about her rights, her blood pressure, and her attorney, until the officer firmly unclasped her hands, guided her out of the car, and handcuffed her behind her back.
As they led Linda toward the back of the police cruiser, she turned her head, her face contorted in pure, unadulterated hatred, looking at me standing by my station wagon.
"You think you're so high and mighty, Maya!" Linda shrieked, her voice echoing off the brick walls of the school. "Evan is going to destroy you! He has resources you don't even know about! You're going to lose everything!"
May you like
I stood beside my father, watching the police push her into the back of the squad car.
"I used to think I had something to lose, Linda," I said quietly as the car door slammed shut. "Now I know I already survived the worst thing your family could do to me. You're just paying the bill."
