Chapter 5 - The Glass House Collapses
As the officers cuffed Eleanor, she thrashing and screaming, her expensive linen outfit wrinkling against the synthetic vest of the arresting officer.
"Jane! Tell them!" she shrieked, looking at me with wild, bloodshot eyes. "Tell them it's a mistake! You're my daughter! You can't let them take me to jail! I'll die in there, Jane! Look at me!"
I stood by the kitchen sink, right next to Samuel’s untouched coffee mug. I didn't move. I didn't cry. I didn't show a single sliver of emotion.
"I am looking at you, Eleanor," I said quietly. "And for the first time in my life, I see you clearly."
"You selfish, ungrateful little bitch!" she spat, her face contorting with absolute hatred as the officer guided her toward the front door. "I wish I had never had you! You ruined this family! Samuel died because he was weak, just like you!"
I felt a cold spike run down my spine, but I kept my gaze level.
Agent Miller stopped near the front door and turned to me. "Mrs. Hayes, we have secured all digital copies from your attorney. The forensic team will be seizing the assets listed in the Caymans within the hour. You'll need to come down to the federal courthouse tomorrow morning to sign the official victim statement."
"I'll be there," I said softly.
"I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am," Agent Miller added, his voice dropping into genuine empathy. "Your husband was a brave man. He fought hard to make sure you were protected before he passed."
"Thank you, Agent," I replied.
I watched through the open door as my parents and brother were loaded into the back of separate police cruisers. The neighbors were stepping out onto their lawns, taking out their phones, recording the scene as the wealthy, arrogant Hayes family was paraded in handcuffs down the quiet suburban street.
The red and blue lights faded into the night air as the sirens began to wail, growing distant as they drove toward the city.
Silence returned to the house.
I walked slowly to the front entrance and closed the door. I locked it, pulled the deadbolt shut, and slid the security chain into place.
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Then, I sank down onto the hardwood floor right next to Penelope’s small yellow rain boots.
I pulled the boots into my lap, pressing my face into the rubber, smelling the lingering scent of rain and sweet childhood innocence. And in the dark, quiet hallway of my empty house, I finally wept.
