Chapter 8 - The Confrontation
Three days after giving birth, I was discharged from the hospital.
Accompanied by Marcus and two plainclothes police officers, I went back to the house to gather my belongings and my baby’s things. I had no intention of ever living in that house again.
When we pulled into the driveway, a sleek black town car was parked near the curb.
Gloria Crane was standing on the ruined porch, looking disheveled, her immaculate gray hair out of place, her face sunken and pale. The frozen assets meant her high-powered lawyers had abandoned her, leaving her with a court-appointed public defender.
As I got out of the car, carrying Lily in her protective car seat, Gloria marched toward me, her eyes filled with venom.
"You satisfied, you ungrateful little bitch?!" Gloria shrieked, pointing a trembling, manicured finger at my face. "You’ve destroyed my family! You’ve dragged our name through the mud! Thirty-four years of work, ruined because you couldn't control yourself!"
I didn't flinch. I didn't step back. I stood tall, looking down at the woman who had terrorized me for years.
"I didn't destroy your family, Gloria," I said, my voice calm and razor-sharp. "Your greed destroyed it. You stole a baby to keep a fortune that wasn't yours. You raised a coward who left his pregnant wife locked in a house during a storm. You built a house of cards, and all I did was open the door."
"Owen is a Crane!" Gloria spat, her voice breaking into a desperate sob. "He is my son!"
"He’s a felon," I corrected her. "And as of this morning, the DNA results came back from the state lab. Owen is not Arthur Crane's son. He isn't even legally entitled to use the Crane name. You’re facing federal wire fraud, estate theft, and child trafficking charges."
Gloria gasped, stumbling backward as if I had struck her.
"Get off my property, Gloria," I said, leaning in close so only she could hear me. "Before I have the officers behind me arrest you for trespassing and harassment."
Gloria looked at the two police officers standing behind me, their hands resting on their belts, watching her every move. She looked at the smartphone Marcus was holding, recording every second of her meltdown.
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Realizing she had lost completely, Gloria turned, stumbled down the steps, and practically threw herself into the back of her car, speeding away down the street.
I turned around, walked into the house, and packed up my daughter's room. I took what was mine, left Owen’s belongings untouched in the dust, and walked out the door forever.
