Chapter 6 - THE BLUE LIGHTS
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"POLICE! OPEN THE DOOR!"
The thunderous pounding on the front entrance of 144 Oakridge Lane shattered the tense standoff inside the bathroom.
Kael froze mid-step, his boot resting on a piece of the shattered wicker hamper. His knuckles were white around the handle of the flathead screwdriver. For a fraction of a second, his eyes met Elowen's—filled with a volatile mixture of panic, rage, and trapped desperation.
"Put it down, Kael!" Mara hissed from the hallway, her voice dropping into an urgent, frantic command. She shoved the thick leather envelope into her trench coat pocket and yanked her son backward by his shoulder. "Drop the tool! Now!"
Kael let the screwdriver clatter onto the bathroom tile. He stepped back into the hallway, his hands raised palms-out as Mara smoothed her hair and adjusted her designer cardigan, instantly morphing into a picture of panicked, affluent concern.
Elowen didn't wait for them to act. She clutched baby Leo tightly against her chest, stepped over the broken door frame, and ran straight down the hallway past her husband and mother-in-law.
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"Elowen, wait—!" Kael reached for her arm, but she dodged him, sprinting down the grand staircase as the heavy front door was forced open by two uniformed officers with flashlights drawn.
"Help me!" Elowen sobbed, collapsing onto her knees near the foyer rug as the lead officer rushed forward to shield her and the baby. "They locked me in! They took my SIM card!"
