The metallic click of handcuffs echoed sharply through the quiet study. Beatrice shrieked in absolute rage, kicking her legs as two officers grabbed her arms and escorted her down the grand marble staircase.
Beatrice: Julian! Tell them to stop! You are destroying this family! What will the press say tomorrow when they see my name in the arrest logs?!
Julian: They'll say the truth, Beatrice. That a cruel bully finally got what she deserved.
Beatrice: I am your mother! You wouldn't have this mansion, this money, or this company without me!
Julian: My father built this company on integrity and hard work. You spent twenty years using his money to make everyone around you miserable.
As the officers led Beatrice out the front doors, several local news vans pulled up along the estate driveway. Reporters and photographers stepped out, holding cameras and microphones. Clara had secretly alerted the city's lead investigative reporter an hour earlier, ensuring that Beatrice's public reputation would be shattered forever.
Reporter 1: Mrs. Vance! Is it true you were arrested for attacking your pregnant daughter-in-law?!
Reporter 2: Mrs. Vance, over here! Are the corporate board members removing you from the foundation chair?!
Beatrice: Turn those cameras off! Get these low-class reporters away from my face!
The cameras flashed continuously as Beatrice was ducked into the back seat of the police cruiser, her expensive black dress caught in the door frame. She slammed her head against the glass, screaming insults through the window as the car pulled away toward the county jail.
Julian stood on the front steps of the mansion, watching the police car disappear down the road. Sarah, his lead corporate attorney, walked up behind him with a thick legal folder.
Sarah: I've already filed the emergency injunction, Julian. All of her personal credit accounts tied to the corporate fund are frozen. The board has unanimously voted to remove her from every executive committee.
Julian: What about the bail hearing?
Sarah: Given the severity of the video evidence and the risk to a pregnant victim, the judge will most likely deny bail or set it at a non-negotiable two million dollars. She will be spending the night in a cell.
Julian: Good. Make sure her legal team knows we will not accept any plea deals. I want this case taken straight to a jury trial.
Sarah: Understood, Julian. How is Evelyn doing?
Julian: She's safe at the hospital. And as long as I breathe, no one in this family will ever hurt her again.