Mark: That's the ambulance. Hang on, Chloe, help is right outside.
Chloe: Let them come in, Mark. I want them to see everything.
Elena: Chloe, please... we're family! We can settle this privately like civilised people!
Chloe: Family doesn't beat a pregnant woman with a metal rod, Elena.
Elena: Think of Julian! Think of what this scandal will do to his corporate career!
Chloe: Julian's corporate career ended the moment he married into the wrong family and thought he could steal a billionaire's daughter's trust fund.
Elena: A billionaire's... what?
Chloe: Did you really think my modest background meant I had no protection? My father founded Mercer Global Enterprises, Elena.
The color vanished entirely from Elena's face as she realized the true identity of the woman she had just assaulted. The heavy front doors of the house swung wide open as paramedics and two uniformed police officers rushed into the living room, their tactical boots thumping against the wooden floor.
Police Officer: Freeze! Nobody move! What happened here?
Elena: Officer, thank god! She attacked me! She's a gold-digger!
Mark: Don't listen to her, Officer! She struck my sister-in-law in the belly with a metal rod and attempted aggravated battery!
Chloe: My name is Chloe Mercer. I want Elena Vance placed under immediate arrest for assault with a deadly weapon and financial conspiracy.
Police Officer: Elena Vance, you are under arrest for aggravated assault and attempted battery. Turn around and put your hands behind your back.
Elena: No! No, you can't touch me! Do you know who my lawyers are?!
Police Officer: Save it for the judge, ma'am. Cuff her.
The sharp, metallic click of handcuffs echoed through the room as the officers snapped the steel restraints around Elena's wrists, hauling her screaming and thrashing toward the exit. Chloe leaned back against the sofa cushions, letting out a long, shuddering breath as the paramedics rushed over to place an oxygen mask over her face and lift her onto a stretcher.
Paramedic: Pulse is rapid, but she's stable. Let's move her to the trauma unit immediately.
Chloe: Am I going to lose my baby?
Paramedic: We're going to do everything we can, ma-am. You're safe now.
As they wheeled her past the front doorway toward the waiting ambulance, Chloe caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass storm door. The bruises on her face were already darkening, but her eyes shone with an unshakeable, brilliant light. The Vances had tried to destroy her, but they had only awakened a force they could never control.