Chapter 5 - The Arrest
Officer Vance reacted with blinding speed.
Before Patricia could take another step toward the exit, the officer stepped into her path, grabbing her arm and pulling her hands behind her back with a firm, practiced click of steel handcuffs.
"Patricia Miller, you are under arrest for suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, assault, and tampering with evidence," Officer Vance announced, his voice ringing with absolute authority through the quiet emergency ward.
Patricia shrieked, struggling against the cuffs with shocking strength for a woman her age. "Are you out of your mind?! You can't arrest me! Do you know who my husband is? Do you know what kind of influence we have in this city?!"
"I know you're currently standing in a hospital where your three-week-old granddaughter just died of cranial trauma after an alleged physical assault," Vance replied coldly, guiding her toward the exit doors. He looked back at Daniel, who was still staring blankly at the floor in a state of complete psychological collapse. "And your son is next on my interview list."
Emily remained seated on the floor against the wall, her arms wrapped tightly around her own trembling body. The hospital corridor was slowly returning to its quiet, sterile rhythm, but nothing would ever be the same again.
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As the double doors swung shut behind Officer Vance and a handcuffed Patricia, a sharp chime echoed from the phone lying on the floor a few feet away.
Emily slowly crawled across the linoleum, picked up her phone, and saw a glowing notification on the screen. It was an automated cloud backup alert from the nursery camera she thought was broken: New motion-activated video file uploaded successfully. Duration: 1 minute, 42 seconds.
