The metallic click of the steel handcuffs echoed loudly off the wood-paneled walls of the living room. The two police officers secured Richard Reed's wrists behind his back while Detective Vance stepped up to Chloe.
Chloe: Don't you touch me! Get your hands off my dress!
Detective Vance: Turn around and place your hands behind your back, Miss Reed.
Chloe: Daniel! Please! Tell him to stop! I'll sign a full release! I'll give up all claims to the wedding trust!
Daniel: You have no claims to give up, Chloe. You never did.
Chloe: I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I did in the garden! I lost my temper!
Daniel: You sprayed my seventy-two-year-old mother with a high-pressure hose and called her unmanageable. You don't get to say you're sorry now.
Detective Vance snapped the handcuffs around Chloe's manicured wrists. She thrashed against the officer's grip, her gold silk dress rumpling as she was forced toward the hallway archway.
Chloe: Dad! Do something! Call our corporate attorneys!
Richard Reed: Shut up, Chloe! You've said enough to put us both in federal prison for twenty years!
The officers guided both prisoners down the grand marble hallway toward the garden courtyard exit. High-society reporters and photographers, who had been invited earlier for Chloe's planned "wedding announcement," were gathered near the marble fountain.
Camera flashes exploded continuously across the bright daylight as Chloe and her father were led out onto the wet marble tiles.
Reporter A: Miss Reed! Is it true you tried to forge Martha Vance's estate trust?
Reporter B: Richard Reed, what happened to the three million dollars from the Bahamas account?
Chloe: Get those cameras out of my face! Put them away!
Chloe pulled her handcuffed hands up to try and hide her face, but the photographers captured every second of her ruined makeup, disheveled hair, and red, swollen cheek.
Detective Vance: Watch your head getting into the cruiser, Miss Reed.
The officer pushed Chloe into the back seat of the lead police car. The heavy metal door slammed shut with a sharp thud, cutting off her shrill shouting instantly.
Down on the marble tiles, Sarah stood near the rose bushes, sweeping away the leftover water with a broom. Martha walked out onto the patio wearing a dry navy blue dress, holding Daniel's arm.
Martha: It's strange how bright the garden looks when the storm finally passes, Daniel.
Daniel: I'm just sorry I didn't see through her lies sooner, Mom.
Martha: You were looking for love, son. There is no shame in having a good heart. The shame belongs to those who try to exploit it.
Sarah: Mrs. Vance, I put your fresh tea on the patio table.
Martha: Thank you, Sarah. And starting today, your monthly salary is doubled, and you are taking over as head of estate management.
Sarah froze, her eyes widening in pure surprise as she looked at Martha and Daniel.
Sarah: Mrs. Vance... that's too much! I was just doing my job!
Daniel: You protected my mother when I wasn't there, Sarah. You earned every single penny of it.
Sarah: Thank you, Mr. Vance! Thank you, Mrs. Vance! I promise I'll take good care of this home.
Martha: I know you will, child. Now let's sit down and enjoy the sunshine together.
Daniel smiled as he helped his mother sit down on the dry teak bench near the fountain, watching the police cars drive away down the long estate driveway.