Chapter 4 - The Arrest and the Aftermath
At 10:30 a.m., the local news broke the story.
Because the wedding had taken place at an prominent country club involving a high-end real estate agent and a well-known local family, the arrest of Rebecca Collins made the afternoon crime blotter:
LOCAL REAL ESTATE AGENT ARRESTED FOR FELONY CHILD ABUSE AT OWN WEDDING RECEPTION.
My mother arrived at my house thirty minutes later, pounding on the front door so violently the glass panels rattled in their frames.
I opened the door, stepping out onto the porch and closing it firmly behind me so Lily wouldn't hear.
"You monster!" Mom shrieked, her face contorted in a mask of pure, unadulterated fury. "You malicious, bitter, jealous monster! They arrested her, Sarah! Two officers pulled her out of her apartment in handcuffs in front of her entire building! They put her in the back of a squad car!"
"Good," I said, standing on the top step, looking down at her.
"She's facing aggravated assault charges!" Mom screamed, spittle flying from her lips. "The prosecutor is refusing bail until tomorrow morning! Thomas left her! His lawyers served her with annulment papers at the precinct! You destroyed her life in less than twelve hours! Are you happy now?!"
"Is Lily happy?" I asked, my voice terrifyingly calm. "Would you like to go upstairs and ask Lily if she's happy, Mom? Would you like to look at the blisters on her face while she cries because she's terrified she's going to be disfigured for life?"
"Lily is a child! She will heal!" Mom yelled, waving her hands wildly. "Rebecca’s career is over! Her reputation is ruined! She’s thirty-five years old, Sarah! How is she supposed to recover from a felony record?!"
I took one step down the porch stairs.
"For thirty-five years, Evelyn," I said, my voice cutting through her screaming like a razor blade through paper, "you taught Rebecca that her feelings were the only things that mattered in this world. You taught her that she could break people, hurt people, steal from people, and destroy people, and that you would always be there to sweep up the mess and blame the victim."
"I protected my family!" Mom cried out.
"No," I corrected her, stepping right into her face until she had to tilt her head back to look at me. "You protected a sociopath. You enabled a bully. And last night, your bully burned my child. You want to know who destroyed Rebecca's life? Look in the mirror, Evelyn. You built her. She just acted out the lesson you taught her."
Mom stared at me, her mouth open, her eyes wide with shock. She had never heard me speak to her like this. She had never seen the quiet, obedient older daughter stand up and bare her teeth.
"Get off my porch," I said softly.
"Sarah... please..." Mom’s voice cracked, dropping from anger into a desperate, pathetic whimper. "Don't do this to us. Don't ruin our family..."
"We aren't a family," I said. "We were just a group of people holding up Rebecca’s mirror. The mirror is broken, Evelyn. Now get off my property before I call the police to serve you with a trespassing warning."
Mom backed down the stone steps, shaking her head, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks. "You'll regret this, Sarah. When you're old and alone, you'll regret turning your back on your sister."
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"I didn't turn my back on my sister," I said, holding her gaze until she reached her car door. "I stepped in front of my daughter."
I walked back inside, shut the front door, and locked the deadbolt with a final, echoing click.
