Chapter 5 - What Was Left of the LieTwo sheriff's deputies walked through the front door carrying formal arrest warrants based on the financial evidence I'd submitted that morning. Within minutes, Reginella and Ophelia were escorted out of the two-story house in handcuffs, their protests echoing along the quiet suburban street.
After the cruisers drove away, I went back inside. I walked down the hallway to the dark storage room, opened the door, and knelt beside Delaney.
At first I said nothing. I simply lifted her frail body into my arms and carried her out into the sunlight, through the front door, into the passenger seat of my car. I fastened her seatbelt.
"Where are we going?" she whispered, tears brimming as she looked at me with a mix of fear and faint hope.
I leaned over, kissed her bare scalp, and smiled for the first time since I'd come home.
"We're going to the best cancer research hospital in the state," I told her gently. "I've already transferred my deployment funds into a secure trust account for your treatment. We're going to get you the best doctors, the best care, and a new home where no one will ever hurt you again."
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Delaney buried her face in my chest, crying with relief as four long years of fear and suffering finally began to fall away.
I started the engine and left the house of lies behind us for good.
