The officers turned Brenda around to guide her out of the master bathroom. Her wet silk robe was dripping water onto the expensive hardwood floor of the master bedroom as they walked. David followed closely behind them, keeping his eyes locked on his wife. The house was dead quiet except for the sound of Brenda's bare feet sliding against the floor and the click of the police gear. As they stepped into the grand hallway near the top of the double staircase, Brenda stopped walking entirely.
Brenda: I am not walking out of my own house like this! Let me put on real clothes!
Officer Smith: Keep moving, ma'am. You can change at the station after you are processed.
Brenda: David! You owe me an explanation! I gave you two years of my life!
David: You gave me two years of lies, Brenda. You abused my daughter while I was earning money to keep this family comfortable.
David stepped directly in front of her, blocking her path toward the staircase. His jaw was clenched so hard the muscles in his face were jumping. He looked at the woman he had loved, realizing now that he had brought a dangerous snake directly into his home. All the red marks on Maya's arms over the past year finally made sense to him. The sudden fear his daughter showed whenever Brenda walked into a room was not shyness. It was terror.
Brenda: She was a spoiled brat! She never respected me as her mother!
David: She was not your daughter! You were supposed to protect her!
Brenda: I deserved that money! I earned every single dollar by staying in this boring house with you and that broken child!
The harsh words hung in the warm air of the hallway. David felt a wave of hot anger wash over his entire body. He thought about how Maya used to sit alone in her bedroom, crying silently because she thought her father did not love her anymore. He thought about the hot flat iron smoking against her scalp just ten minutes ago.
David: You are never coming back to this house. You will never see a single dime of my money or my daughter's estate.
Brenda: My lawyer will tie you up in family court for ten years! I will make sure everyone in Dallas knows what kind of man you are!
David: My lawyers are already filing the papers right now, Brenda. Your prenup is void because of the felony fraud you committed before we got married.
Brenda gasped, her eyes opening wide with horror. She looked at David like she was seeing a total stranger. She had always thought he was quiet and soft, a man who preferred to avoid conflict. She never expected him to move so fast and destroy her whole plan in a single morning.
Brenda: You planned this... you set me up today!
David: I put extra cameras in the bathroom this morning because Maria called me yesterday crying. I came back from the airport early just to catch you in the act.
Brenda: You traitor!
Brenda lunged forward, trying to spit on David's face, but the two officers grabbed her shoulders and slammed her back against the wall. The sound of her body hitting the wall echoed down the open staircase. She kicked her wet feet against the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs like a wild animal.