Chapter 5 - The Trap Springs ShutBefore I could lunge forward to grab her, the heavy front door downstairs clicked open with a loud, echoing chime.
Footsteps rushed up the stairs—heavy, purposeful boots. Not one set, but multiple.
“Evelyn? Is everything alright? Mr. Henderson called us; he said he heard shouting and a door breaking down,” a booming voice called out from the hallway.
Local police.
Evelyn’s face lit up with a masterclass of theatrical transformation. In a fraction of a second, the venomous harpy vanished, replaced by a weeping, terrified housewife. She threw her hands over her face, letting out a convincing, ragged sob as two uniformed officers rounded the corner into the bedroom hallway.
“Officer! Thank God you’re here!” Evelyn cried out, stumbling backward into the arms of the lead cop. “It’s my husband! He’s back from deployment, but he’s… he’s completely unhinged! He broke the door down, he’s threatening me, and he’s terrifying his poor, sick mother!”
The two officers immediately drew their hands toward their holsters, their eyes darting past Evelyn to fixate on me standing inside the bedroom doorway, towering over the shattered wood.
“Sir! Step away from the door and put your hands where we can see them!” the older officer shouted, his hand resting firmly on the grip of his service weapon. “Do it now!”
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I raised my hands slowly, my jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth would shatter. Evelyn buried her face in the young officer's shoulder, peeking out with a triumphant, wicked smirk that only I could see.
She had called them herself. While I was talking to my mother, she must have dialed 911 on her phone, framing me as the violent, unstable veteran before I could even tell my side of the story.
