Chapter 8 - Legal Maneuvers and the Restraining Order
By 1:00 p.m., our living room looked like a legal war room.
Aunt Marie sat on our sofa, drinking black tea. Unlike Linda, Aunt Marie had always been a woman of iron will and unshakable ethics. When she had seen the receipts I dropped in the family group chat, she hadn’t just demanded her twenty-dollar bet back—she had rallied the entire extended family.
“Your mother has been a fool since the day your father died,” Aunt Marie said, setting her teacup down with a firm clatter. “We all knew Kendra was a leech, but none of us knew Linda was signing over your father’s legacy to feed her vanity. Clara, you did the right thing turning her away.”
Sitting beside Aunt Marie was Marcus Vance, an attorney and long-time family friend who specialized in civil litigation and family law. On the coffee table in front of him lay a thick stack of printed documents.
“The criminal side is already moving,” Marcus explained, tapping the police report. “The detective assigned to your case viewed the Ring footage of Kendra and Linda removing property from your home while you were hospitalized. Between the cash, the gift cards, and the value of the ruined heirloom quilt, it easily crosses the statutory threshold for felony grand larceny.”
“Will they arrest her?” Simon asked, sitting beside me with his arm wrapped securely around my shoulders.
“If she tries to flee jurisdiction, yes,” Marcus said. “A warrant is being drafted today. But more importantly, we need an emergency protective order. Kendra’s TikTok video doxxed your residential address, resulting in credible online harassment. Given her history of unauthorized entry, no judge in this county will hesitate to grant an immediate temporary restraining order covering Clara, Simon, August, and this property.”
“What about the brand deal?” I asked.
Marcus allowed himself a thin, professional smile. “Chloe’s evidence was the nail in the coffin. *LuxeLittleCo* issued a public statement an hour ago. They terminated their partnership with Kendra, publicly apologized to you and Simon, and donated five thousand dollars to a maternal mental health charity in August’s name to clean their hands of the PR nightmare.”
I leaned back against Simon, letting out a long, shuddering breath. For the first time in five days, the suffocating cloud of dread began to lift.
“And the family?” I asked Aunt Marie. “What are they saying?”
“Uncle Robert canceled Kendra’s phone and credit card that he was co-signing,” Aunt Marie said with a sharp nod. “Cousin Greg apologized for his comment in the group chat—he felt sick when he saw the actual proof. The entire family has cut Kendra off completely. She doesn't have a single ally left, Clara. Not one.”
Just then, Marcus’s phone buzzed. He answered it, listened in silence for two minutes, occasionally murmuring an acknowledgment, and then hung up.
He looked across the table at us.
“That was the precinct,” Marcus said. “The police just intercepted Kendra at the municipal airport. She was trying to board a flight to Miami using a ticket purchased on Linda’s credit card.”
My breath caught. “Did they arrest her?”
“She was taken into custody for outstanding warrant execution regarding the burglary charges,” Marcus confirmed. “She is currently being processed at the county jail.”
The room went completely silent.
I looked down at August, who was sleeping peacefully in his bassinet, entirely untouched by the venom that had tried to poison his arrival into the world. There was no joy in hearing that my sister was in handcuffs. There was no triumphant cheer in my chest.
Only a profound, quiet stillness.
May you like
The parasite had finally been removed from our lives.
***