Chapter 6 - The Uninvited Luxury Vacation
Down on Interstate 75, Ryan Miller was tapping the steering wheel of his black Cadillac Escalade, humming along to the radio while checking his reflection in the rearview mirror.
In the passenger seat, his mother, Margaret, was admiring a new diamond-crusted tennis bracelet she had purchased on Collins Avenue using one of Hannah’s secondary credit cards. In the back seat, Ashley was busy editing photos of herself lounging by the pool at the luxury resort, applying heavy filters before uploading them to her salon’s promotional page.
"I still can’t believe Hannah shut off the card yesterday," Margaret grumbled, adjusting her oversized sunhat. "After everything this family has done for her! Letting her run off to play Army doctor while we hold down the fort. She has no gratitude whatsoever."
"Don't worry about it, Mom," Ryan said with an arrogant smirk. "When we get back, I’ll just gaslight her like I always do. I’ll tell her Lily got a mild stomach bug, that I had to run out to buy pedialyte, and that she’s overreacting because of deployment stress. Hannah’s so terrified of Lily growing up in a broken home that she’ll apologize and transfer twenty grand into my account by tonight."
"And what about the deed paperwork?" Ashley asked, leaning forward between the front seats. "Did Carlos send the finalized transfer docs for the nail salon annex?"
"He texted me an hour ago," Ryan replied, patting the leather folder sitting on the center console. "The forged notary stamp is pristine. By tomorrow morning, the commercial annex will be legally registered under 'Ashley's Velvet Touch LLC'. If Hannah tries to kick you out, we’ll hit her with a commercial lease lawsuit that will tie her up in court for five years."
"Serves her right," Margaret scoffed. "A woman’s place is at home supporting her husband’s family, not running around bases collecting hazard pay she refuses to share."
"Look, we're taking the exit now," Ryan said, turning the SUV onto the tree-lined avenue leading into their neighborhood. "Let’s get in, throw some frozen nuggets in the oven for Lily so she stops whining, and I’ll call Hannah to demand she unfreeze the accounts."
As the Escalade rounded the final corner onto Magnolia Court, Ryan’s confident grin suddenly vanished.
Parked along the curbs of the manicured cul-de-sac were three marked Tampa Police patrol cruisers, an unmarked detective sedan, and a large white van bearing the logo of the Hillsborough County Child Protection Division.
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Standing squarely at the center of the front lawn, flanked by two armed police officers and Captain Ramirez in full military dress uniform, was Hannah.
She was standing at attention, her arms folded behind her back, her eyes locked onto the windshield of Ryan’s approaching vehicle with the lethal precision of a sniper.
