Chapter 10 - THE COLD TRUTH
By the time we returned to the house, the scene had escalated.
Three more police vehicles were parked outside.
Yellow crime scene tape stretched across my front porch.
Officers were carrying cardboard boxes out of my front door.
Boxes filled with my files.
My bank statements.
My life.
I carried Noah in my arms, hiding his face in my shoulder.
I didn't want him to see this.
My father met us in the driveway.
"Take him," I told Dad, handing Noah over.
"Go to your house."
"Lock the doors."
"Do not let anyone inside."
Dad held Noah tightly.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going inside," I said.
"I need to look Ethan in the eye."
I walked past the officers and stepped into my own living room.
It felt like a crime scene.
Because it was.
Claire was sitting on the sofa, her face buried in her hands.
She was handcuffed.
Ethan was standing by the window.
Also handcuffed.
Two officers stood closely beside him.
When I walked in, Ethan turned to look at me.
There was no panic left in his eyes.
The fear I had seen earlier was gone.
Instead, his expression was completely blank.
Empty.
Like I was a stranger he had passed on the street.
"Marcus," I said.
Just one word.
Ethan didn't flinch.
"I know he was at the school," I continued, stepping closer.
"I saw the security footage."
"I know he helped you build the shell companies."
Ethan tilted his head slightly.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
His voice was perfectly calm.
Too calm.
"You tried to take my son," I said, my voice trembling with rage.
"You sent your lawyer to steal my child."
"Emma, you're hysterical," Ethan said smoothly.
He looked at Officer Walker.
"She's been under a lot of stress."
"She's imagining things."
I stared at him in pure disbelief.
Even now.
Even in handcuffs.
He was still trying to gaslight me.
Still playing the game.
"We have the recording, Ethan," I reminded him.
"We have the Phase Two folder."
"We have six other women who thought you loved them."
For a fraction of a second, the mask slipped.
His jaw clenched.
A muscle twitched near his eye.
But he quickly recovered.
"You can't prove anything," he said quietly.
"Those women gave me their money willingly."
"Just like you did."
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to strike him.
But I didn't.
Because I realized something in that moment.
He was a sociopath.
He truly believed he was smarter than everyone else in the room.
Detective Mitchell stepped into the living room.
"Take them both to the precinct," she ordered the officers.
They grabbed Ethan's arms.
As they led him toward the door, he stopped next to me.
He leaned in.
"This isn't over, Emma," he whispered.
May you like
"You have no idea what you're up against."
Then they marched him out the door.
