Chapter 6 - The Arrest at Twilight
Ellie gasped, dropping her purse onto the floor. Alana staggered back against the sofa, clutching her chest.
"Clarissa?!" Ellie shrieked. "What is this?! Parker, what did you do?!"
"Mr. Bolaro did the right thing, Miss Bolaro," Deputy Miller said, stepping forward with a pair of handcuffs glinting on his belt. "I am Deputy Miller with the Knox County Sheriff's Department. Elena Bolaro, you are under arrest for attempted grand larceny, forgery, and bank fraud."
"This is absurd!" Alana screamed, stepping in front of her daughter. "This is a private family dispute! My son owns this house!"
"This house belongs exclusively to Clarissa Hart," Deputy Miller countered sharply. "And we have audio and video recording evidence of you and your daughter conspiring to forge property deeds and commit loan fraud using Mr. Bolaro's business accounts."
"Fake!" Ellie yelled, her voice escalating into a hysterical screech as one of the private investigators pulled out a digital recorder and played back the conversation from thirty seconds ago—the conversation where Ellie explicitly instructed Parker to sign the fraudulent loan papers to bypass the bank audit.
"You trapped me!" Ellie screamed, glaring at Parker with pure, unadulterated hatred. "You cowardly piece of garbage! You chose that orphan boy and his mother over your own blood?!"
Parker walked over to Clarissa, standing firmly by her side, though his face was pale.
"Dustin is my son," Parker said, his voice ringing true for the very first time in three years. "And you... you are a thief who tried to destroy my life and put me in prison."
Deputy Miller stepped forward, pulling Ellie’s arms behind her back and snapping the steel cuffs around her wrists. Ellie thrashing violently, cursing at Clarissa, Parker, and the police as she was led out the front door toward the waiting patrol car.
Alana collapsed onto the sofa, sobbing hysterically, clutching her face in her hands. "Parker... please! Don't let them take your sister! She has a child! What about Mason?!"
"Mason will stay with his father," Clarissa said coldly, looking down at the broken old woman. "And as for you, Alana... you have thirty minutes to pack your things and leave this house. If you ever set foot on my property again, or ever come near my son Dustin, I will file a full restraining order and press charges against you for accessory to child neglect."
Alana looked up at her son, pleading with her eyes. "Parker... son... tell her no. Tell her I'm your mother!"
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Parker looked at his mother, the woman who had spent his entire life manipulating him, using him as a financial piggy bank while treating his wife and adoptive son like dirt.
"You're not my mother anymore, Alana," Parker said quietly. "You're just a stranger who almost ruined my family."
