Chapter 2 - The Sudden Shift
The heavy iron sledgehammer slipped from Sloan’s gloved hands, striking the hardwood floor with a deafening thud that echoed off the high master bedroom ceiling.
Corrine’s grip on Alora’s hair loosened instantly. Her face, twisted in sadistic fury just seconds prior, drained of color as her eyes locked onto mine in the dimly lit hallway.
"Thane?" Corrine whispered, her voice faltering as she tried to adjust her posture, stepping back from Alora as if she had suddenly been burned by my wife's presence. "You... you missed your flight?"
I didn't answer. I stood in the doorway, six feet three inches of motionless composure, holding my phone at shoulder height. The small red recording indicator glowed like a drop of blood against the dark glass screen.
"Thane, oh thank God!" my sister Sloan shrieked, suddenly throwing her arms in the air and putting on a performance that was as breathtaking as it was sickening. "We heard someone inside! We thought an intruder was attacking Alora! We came over with the emergency key to save her!"
Corrine immediately caught on, her decades of social manipulation kicking into high gear. She pressed her hands against her chest, letting out a ragged, dramatic sob. "Yes! Thane, darling, she was acting so strange! She was trying to break into your vault! We tried to stop her, but she started screaming and throwing herself onto the floor! Look at what she did to the safe!"
Alora remained on the floor, trembling violently, her face pale and her lip bleeding where Corrine’s ring had split her skin. She looked at me through tears, her arms still wrapped tightly around her stomach, guarding our unborn baby.
"Thane..." Alora whimpered, her voice barely a breath. "They... they took my phone... they had the hammer..."
"Don't listen to her, Thane!" Corrine snapped, stepping toward me with outstretched arms, her hands trembling in faux maternal concern. "She’s unstable! Pregnant women go through emotional episodes! We were protecting your wealth! She refused to give us the passcodes when the house alarm went off!"
"The house alarm didn't go off, Corrine," I said, my voice flat, devoid of any warmth, any anger, or any recognizable human warmth.
Sloan stepped toward the open suitcase, trying to casually slide her foot over a fallen diamond necklace that belonged to Alora. "Thane, put the phone down. Cancel the police. You don't understand how this looks. We're your family!"
"You aren't my family," I said quietly. "You are two armed individuals currently committing home invasion, grand larceny, and aggravated battery on a pregnant woman inside a private residence."
Outside, in the far distance down the coastal highway, the faint, rising wail of police sirens broke through the ocean wind.
Corrine’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated panic. "Thane! Are you out of your mind?! You actually called the police on your own mother?!"
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"No," I corrected her, stepping into the room and crouching down beside Alora, wrapping my suit jacket around her shivering shoulders. "I called tactical units on two criminals. And the entire thirty minutes of your assault has just been uploaded to the District Attorney's secure server."
Sloan let out a terrified shriek as the flashing red and blue lights of four tactical police units swept across the master bedroom windows.
