The front doors rattled as heavy footsteps stomped through the entryway. Sheriff Marcus Miller walked into the living room, followed by two uniformed deputies, snow dusting their shoulders.
Sheriff Miller: Captain Vance! We received the emergency dispatch from base command. Is everyone alright?
David: My wife and newborn were locked out in sub-zero temperatures for hours, Sheriff. They need medical evaluation immediately.
Sheriff Miller: Deputy Jenkins, get the medical kit from the cruiser and call the paramedics right now!
Deputy Jenkins: Yes, sir!
Beatrice: Sheriff, listen to me! This is a domestic misunderstanding! My husband was simply protecting our private property!
Sheriff Miller: Ma'am, step back. Captain Vance is the registered sole owner of this deed. You two are currently trespassing on federal officer property.
Arthur: Trespassing?! I built this family name in this county!
Sheriff Miller: You built a reputation for unpaid bills and court summons, Arthur. We have an active federal warrant for your arrest issued by the state prosecutor's office forty-five minutes ago.
Arthur gasped, taking a staggering step backward until his knee hit the edge of the glass coffee table.
Arthur: A federal warrant?! On what charges?!
Sheriff Miller: Grand larceny, wire fraud, identity theft, and felony child endangerment.
Beatrice: Child endangerment?!
Sheriff Miller: Leaving a newborn infant and a six-month pregnant woman in a frozen yard without shelter carries heavy criminal weight in this state, ma'am. Turn around, Arthur.
Arthur: You can't put handcuffs on me! I demand to speak to my attorney!
Sheriff Miller: You can call whoever you want from the county jail. Hands behind your back. Right now.
Deputy Ramirez stepped forward, roughly pulling Arthur's arms behind his back and clicking the steel handcuffs into place around his wrists.
Arthur: David! Tell them to stop! You are destroying your own father!
David: You destroyed yourself, Arthur. I'm just cleaning up the mess.
Beatrice: David, please! I had nothing to do with the money! I didn't know about the trust fund!
David: You stood right beside him at that window, Beatrice. You held a glass of wine while my wife was crying in the snow. You're just as guilty as he is.
Sheriff Miller: Ma'am, you need to collect your personal items and vacate the property immediately. If you are still on this land in ten minutes, you will be arrested for criminal trespassing.
Beatrice burst into hysterical tears, grabbing her purse off the entry table and running out into the snowy driveway without even looking back at her husband.
Arthur: Beatrice! Don't leave me! Beatrice!
Sheriff Miller: Let's take a walk to the cruiser, Arthur. Watch your head.
The deputies escorted Arthur out into the freezing wind, his expensive leather shoes sliding on the ice as he was shoved into the back of the police car. The heavy metal doors slammed shut, cutting off his frantic shouting completely.
David turned back to Emma, dropping to his knees and taking her cold hand into his warm, calloused palms.
David: It's over, Emma. They're gone. They will never touch you again.