Chapter 4 - The Hammer of Justice
The sound of sirens began to wail in the distance,
a high-pitched symphony of accountability that made Eden burst into tears.
"Joanna,
please!"
she begged,
reaching for my hand,
"we're family!"
"Think of the scandal!"
I pulled my hand back,
feeling nothing but a cold,
hollow disgust.
"Family doesn't steal identities,
Eden,"
I said,
"and family doesn't kick someone when they're down on the floor."
My father stood by the window,
his arms crossed,
watching as two squad cars pulled up to the curb.
Randy looked like he was about to bolt,
but my father moved with a speed that belied his age,
blocking the exit.
"Stay right there,
son,"
my father said,
the word 'son' sounding like a curse.
The front door opened,
and three officers walked in,
one of them a woman who looked at my face and immediately tightened her jaw.
"Joanna Vance?"
she asked,
and I realized she knew my father.
"Yes,"
I said,
"the evidence is on the table."
"The suspect is right there."
The officers moved with an efficient silence,
handcuffing Randy as he began to whine about his rights.
"You have the right to remain silent,
Randy,"
my father said,
leaning in close to him,
"and for once in your life,
I suggest you take it."
Eden was being led out too,
not in handcuffs yet,
but as a person of interest in a federal fraud investigation.
She looked back at the townhouse,
at the colonial dream she had tried to steal,
and realized she was going to lose her own home to pay for the lawyers she was about to need.
As they were led out of the door,
the sunlight hitting the chrome of the handcuffs,
I felt a weight lift from my shoulders that I hadn't even realized I was carrying.
The townhouse was quiet once more,
but it wasn't the silence of fear anymore.
It was the silence of a house that had been purged of a poison.
My father walked over and put his arm around me,
letting me lean against his strength.
"It's over,
Jo,"
he said.
"No,
Dad,"
I said,
looking at the evidence on the table,
"it's just beginning."
"I have a lot of work to do to get my name back."
May you like
"But for the first time in years,"
"I can breathe."
