Chapter 6 - The Paper Shield
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Carol stepped forward, grabbing the air near the tablet as if she could pull Ara out of the speaker. "Ara, you are acting like a lunatic! My son gave you a life! You can't just throw him into the street over a minor domestic argument!"
"A minor argument?" Mrs. Higgins interrupted, pulling a second thick envelope from her binder. "Mrs. Vance, there is one more document your daughter-in-law instructed me to serve upon your arrival."
She handed the white envelope directly to Julian.
Julian pulled out the contents with numb fingers. On top was an emergency temporary restraining order signed by a Manhattan family court judge at 7:00 AM, prohibiting Julian and Carol Vance from coming within five hundred feet of Ara, her workplace, or her temporary residence.
Beneath the court order was a printed color photograph—a high-resolution still taken from the condominium corridor’s security camera from the previous night.
It captured the open doorway of Apartment 4B. It showed Julian shoving Ara backward, the violent splash of blood hitting the shoe cabinet, and Carol standing over her body with her hands folded, watching her bleed without moving an inch.
Carol gasped, covering her mouth as her face turned ash-gray. "Where... where did you get that?"
"All hallway cameras in this building record directly to a cloud server managed by my office," Mrs. Higgins said coldly. "Ara requested the footage at midnight. I personally handed the raw drive to the police detectives two hours ago."
Julian dropped the papers onto the carpet, his knees buckling slightly. The grand narrative he had built—the story of a dramatic, hysterical wife who tripped over her own feet—was completely eradicated.
"You planned all of this?" Carol whispered toward the tablet, her voice cracking with pure terror. "You set a trap for my son!"
Ara’s voice came through the speaker one final time, as smooth and unyielding as polished steel.
May you like
"No, Carol," Ara said. "I didn't plan a trap. I planned to survive. You have two hours to clear Julian's personal clothing out of my apartment before the locks are re-keyed. Good luck."
The line went dead.
