Chapter 5 - Aunt Miriam's Intervention
While Corinne was uncovering the financial fraud, Ross and Gwendolyn realized the walls were closing in. The temporary custody hearing was approaching, and Ross was growing desperate. They needed Casey to testify that Corinne was dangerous.
That evening, Ross and Gwendolyn drove to Aunt Miriam’s house, where Casey was staying under temporary protective placement. Rain poured down, mirroring the night Corinne had returned. Ross banged aggressively on Miriam’s front door.
“Give me my daughter, Miriam!” Ross shouted through the wood. “I have parental rights! I just want to talk to her before the hearing!”
Miriam, a retired emergency room nurse who tolerated no nonsense, stood firmly on the other side of the locked door, holding a heavy iron fireplace poker. Behind her, Casey cowered on the sofa, clutching her teddy bear.
“You have no rights until the judge says so, Ross!” Miriam shouted back. “The police are already on their way!”
Gwendolyn walked around to the back of the house, looking for an unlocked window, her desperation turning into dangerous erraticism. She found a loose pane on the back porch and prepared to smash it with a brick.
Suddenly, a bright beam of light blinded her.
Corinne stood in the pouring rain, holding a heavy-duty tactical flashlight. She had driven straight from the house after uncovering the fraud. Her posture was straight, commanding, radiating the authority she had honed over a decade in the military.
“Drop the brick, Gwen,” Corinne commanded, her voice cutting through the storm like a knife.
Gwendolyn froze, dropping the brick into the mud. Ross ran to the back, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw his wife. The police sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder.
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“You’re finished,” Corinne said calmly to both of them. “Leave this property now, or I’ll let the police arrest you for trespassing and attempted burglary on top of everything else.”
Cowards at their core, Ross and Gwendolyn scrambled into their car and sped away into the night, just as the police cruisers pulled onto the street. Corinne went inside and wrapped Casey in a warm, desperate hug.
