Chapter 4 - The Arrest on the Marble
Officer Martinez didn't hesitate for a single second.
He grabbed Victoria's wrist, spinning her around against the cold marble counter and pulling steel handcuffs from his belt.
"Victoria Vance, you are under arrest for felony child abuse and domestic assault," the officer declared firmly.
Victoria let out a shrill scream of indignation as the cold steel snapped around her manicured wrists.
"Julian! Tell them to stop!" Victoria screamed, her blonde hair falling wildly across her pale face. "I was just disciplining her!"
Julian didn't even look at her as the paramedics walked in with a pediatric medical kit.
"Check her for hidden injuries, please," Julian requested softly, kneeling beside the examination stretcher.
The female paramedic gently pulled back the sleeve of Lily's lavender dress, revealing old, yellowing bruises along her forearm.
Julian felt his heart freeze inside his chest as the paramedic exchanged a grave look with the police officers.
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"These bruises didn't happen today, Mr. Vance," the paramedic noted quietly. "This child has been systematically harmed for months."
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