The front double doors banged open as Dr. Harrison hurried into the parlor carrying a portable fetal monitor.
Right behind him strode Deputy Miller and two armed county officers, their duty belts jingling sharply.
Dr. Harrison: Austin! Let me get to Claire immediately! Move that foot basin out of the way!
Austin kicked the copper basin aside, sending dirty water washing across Evelyn's gold slippers.
Evelyn: Watch my designer footwear, you clumsy fool!
Deputy Miller: Step against the fireplace, Mrs. Vance. Keep your hands where my deputies can see them.
Evelyn: Deputy Miller! I have known your sheriff for twenty-five years! Stand down this instant!
Deputy Miller: Sheriff Brooks personally signed your arrest warrant twenty minutes ago, ma'am.
Evelyn staggered backward, her gold satin pajama suit catching the draft from the open doors.
Evelyn: On what possible criminal charge?! This is an internal domestic dispute!
Deputy Miller: Charge one: third-degree felony assault on a pregnant individual under Texas Penal Code 22.01.
Deputy Miller: Charge two: unlawful restraint and terroristic threat.
Deputy Miller: Charge three: grand larceny and securities fraud exceeding four million dollars.
Dr. Harrison applied ultrasound gel to Claire's swollen abdomen, pressing the handheld probe down.
A fast, rhythmic heartbeat thumped through the portable monitor speaker, echoing like thunder in the room.
Dr. Harrison: Fetal heart rate is one hundred and fifty. Elevated due to maternal stress, but strong.
Austin let out a long, ragged breath, resting his forehead against Claire's hand.
Austin: Thank God... Thank God Almighty.
Dr. Harrison: She is having active Braxton-Hicks contractions triggered by physical trauma to her scalp and neck.
Austin: Do we need to transport her to the hospital, Doctor?
Dr. Harrison: My paramedic team is right behind me with a stretcher. We are taking her to Dallas Presbyterian for observation.
Claire: Austin... Don't leave my side... Please come in the ambulance with me...
Austin: I am riding right in the back with you, baby. Nobody will ever separate us again.
Austin stood up, turning his icy gaze toward Evelyn, who was now trembling beside the cold fireplace.
Austin: Deputy Miller, show her the digital recording from corporate security.
Deputy Miller pulled an iPad from his tactical vest, tapping the screen and holding it forward.
The high-definition feed displayed the private parlor from forty minutes earlier in crystal-clear 4K resolution.
On the screen, Evelyn yanked Claire's hair, screaming into her ear as the pregnant girl sobbed over the basin.
Her voice boomed through the tablet's speakers: "Wash faster! Don't you dare stop until I tell you you're finished!"
Evelyn clapped both hands over her mouth, her eyes bulging in pure, suffocating dread.
Evelyn: That camera... The contractor told me the parlor security circuits were dead!
Austin: The commercial lines were dead, Evelyn. The private satellite backup feeds never stop recording.
Evelyn: You installed a hidden surveillance camera inside my private parlor?!
Austin: I installed a guardian to protect my wife and child from a predator who wanted them gone.
Evelyn: That recording violates my right to privacy! You cannot present that in court!
Deputy Miller: Under Texas law, video evidence of an in-progress violent felony in a shared residence is fully admissible, ma'am.
Evelyn: Austin, please! Think of our family name! Think of the country club board!
Austin: Your country club membership was terminated at noon today, Evelyn.
Evelyn: Terminated?! On what grounds?!
Austin: The board reviewed your bounced checks and your unpaid dues from last winter.
Evelyn's knees buckled, and she fell hard onto the Persian rug beside the spilled water.
Deputy Miller: Deputies, place the suspect in handcuffs. Maximum felony restraint.