Chapter 5 - The Pre-Emptive Strike
By six o'clock the following morning, while the city was still blanketed in cold dawn mist, my father and I were sitting inside the executive office of District Attorney Evelyn Reed.
Evelyn was a formidable woman in her late fifties, with sharp grey eyes and a reputation for crushing high-society criminals who thought their wealth made them immune to the law. She sat behind a desk stacked high with evidence folders, reviewing the digital file Kieran had provided.
The video played on her monitor. When it reached the part where Declan laughed and called Veta "weak," Evelyn's jaw set into an iron line.
She closed the laptop screen with a sharp snap.
"Incredible," Evelyn said, her voice dropping into a dangerous register. "Gregory Hayes called my office at two in the morning, claiming this was an accidental property damage case involving a distraught teenager."
"Hayes tried to bribe my daughter with a quarter of a million dollars in the ICU last night, Evelyn," my father stated, placing his leather notepad on her desk. "They are attempting to frame this as sensory overload and a family spat."
"Sensory overload doesn't involve using a steel hammer four times on a medical pressure vessel," Evelyn countered, pulling out three red-stamped indictment forms. "I’ve already conferred with the Chief Medical Examiner and Dr. Thorne. Destruction of specialized medical equipment necessary for human respiration constitutes the use of a deadly weapon under state penal code."
She signed her name across the bottom of the top document with a heavy black fountain pen.
"I am issuing grand jury indictments for the following," Evelyn announced firmly. "Bellamy Vance: Attempted Second-Degree Murder, First-Degree Assault, and Criminal Mischief with a Deadly Weapon. Declan Vance: First-Degree Child Endangerment, Criminal Negligence, and Accomplice to Deprivation of Life Support."
"What about Una?" I asked. "She blocked my vehicle. She prevented me from taking Veta to the emergency room."
"Una Vance is being indicted for Felony False Imprisonment, Obstruction of Emergency Services, and Accessory After the Fact," Evelyn replied, sliding the signed warrants toward me. "The state police tactical unit is moving in on the Elmcrest estate right now to execute the arrest warrants."
My shoulder radio crackled. It was my federal field coordinator.
"Commander Vance, we have an update from state dispatch. The Vance family has locked themselves inside the Elmcrest estate. They are refusing to open the gates for the arresting officers, and Declan is currently livestreaming a statement on social media claiming police harassment."
A cold, dark smile touched my lips. "Declan is streaming?"
I pulled out my tablet and opened the public broadcast link.
There was Declan, standing in his mother's opulent living room, wearing a tailored sweater, looking directly into the camera with tears in his eyes. Behind him, Una was sitting on a silk sofa, holding a handkerchief, while Bellamy sat curled in a chair, crying performatively.
"...my ex-wife is using her federal connections to attack our family," Declan was telling thirty thousand live viewers. "Our daughter had a minor medical episode, and my sister accidentally knocked over a piece of equipment during a panic attack. Now, rogue officers are surrounding our home, threatening an innocent family..."
"He thinks he can win this in the court of public opinion," my father said, watching the viewer count tick upward.
"He just handed us our greatest weapon," I said, standing up and pulling my tactical coat over my shoulders.
I looked at District Attorney Reed. "Evelyn, do you have authorization to release the crime scene evidence to the press?"
Evelyn smiled—a sharp, predatory expression. "The moment an arrest warrant is actively defied, Commander... the evidence file becomes a matter of public record."
"Release the unedited video," I commanded. "Release the video from Declan's phone directly to the media stream right now."
Evelyn hit a single key on her master terminal.
Five seconds later, on Declan's live broadcast, the comments section suddenly exploded into a chaotic, blinding wall of text.
The District Attorney's office had uploaded the raw, unedited video file directly to the public registry, pinning it to the top of the news feeds covering the barricade.
On millions of screens across the state, Declan's emotional speech was instantly replaced by the terrifying footage he had taken himself: his nineteen-year-old daughter suffocating on the rug, Bellamy swinging the hammer, and Declan's own cold voice laughing in the background.
Through the tablet speakers, we heard Declan's phone begin to chime uncontrollably with thousands of violent, outraged messages from his own viewers.
His live stream dropped to zero.
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"It's over," my father said softly.
I picked up my tactical radio, clicking the transmitter button. "State Command, this is Commander Vance. I am en route to the Elmcrest estate. Prepare for entry."
