Chapter 3 - The Siege and the Sirens
The sound of the heavy oak front door slamming shut shook the house.
Margaret moved to the bedroom window.
She looked down at the circular driveway.
Ethan’s black SUV was parked near the fountain.
He threw the driver’s side door open, practically throwing his mother into the passenger seat.
The engine roared to life.
Tires screeched against the gravel as the heavy vehicle tore down the long, tree-lined driveway.
He was running.
A coward to the very end.
"He's gone," Margaret announced, turning back to Olivia.
Olivia let out a breath she felt she had been holding for five months.
Her shoulders slumped.
The adrenaline that had kept her upright suddenly vanished.
A sharp, agonizing cramp seized her lower abdomen.
She gasped, clutching her stomach.
"Mom..."
Margaret was at her side in an instant.
"Talk to me, Liv. What is it?"
"Pain," Olivia winced, gritting her teeth.
"It's sharp. The baby..."
Margaret's eyes dropped to the bedsheets.
They were dry. Her water hadn't broken.
But the stress, the fear, and whatever medication Diane had been forcing on her were taking their toll.
"The ambulance is on its way," Margaret assured her, taking her pulse.
"Just breathe. Nice and slow. You're safe now."
Outside, the distant wail of sirens began to pierce the quiet afternoon air.
The sound grew louder, multiplying as multiple units converged on the isolated estate.
Red and blue lights soon flashed through the bedroom windows, painting the walls in frantic colors.
Margaret didn't leave Olivia's side until she heard heavy footsteps rushing up the stairs.
"Police! Is anyone up here?" a deep voice called out.
"In the master suite!" Margaret shouted back.
Two local police officers burst into the room, hands resting on their holstered weapons.
They took in the scene.
The shattered coffee mug.
The barricade chair.
The heavily pregnant, bruised woman on the bed.
And the stern, commanding woman standing over her.
Margaret reached into her jacket pocket slowly, pulling out her federal ID.
"Investigator Carter, Department of Defense," she introduced herself.
The officers relaxed their posture slightly, reviewing the badge.
"Where is the suspect, ma'am?" the lead officer asked.
"Fled the scene in a black SUV," Margaret reported concisely.
"Suspect is Major Ethan Brooks, US Army. He is accompanied by his mother, Diane Brooks."
"I need an APB put out immediately. He is a flight risk and facing charges of domestic battery, wire fraud, and attempted murder."
The younger officer’s eyes widened. "Attempted murder?"
Margaret pointed to the audio recorder on the bed.
"We have them on tape conspiring to induce fatal medical complications to steal this estate."
The lead officer immediately keyed his radio.
"Dispatch, be advised, suspect vehicle is a black SUV, fleeing a domestic incident. Suspect is armed and dangerous, wanted for attempted murder."
As the officer broadcast the alert, two paramedics rushed into the room carrying a stretcher.
They immediately assessed Olivia's vitals.
Her blood pressure was dangerously high.
"We need to transport her immediately," the paramedic stated.
"She's having stress-induced contractions. At seven months, we can't take any chances."
They carefully moved Olivia onto the stretcher.
Margaret held her daughter’s hand the entire way down the grand staircase.
As they rolled Olivia out the front doors, she looked back at the house.
The house she had grown up in.
The house her mother had left her.
It had felt like a prison for the last year.
But as the cool afternoon breeze hit her face, a new feeling washed over her.
May you like
Freedom.
She was taking her home back.
