Chapter 13 - The Grandmother’s Gambit
The pediatric clinic was located in a serene,
tree-lined corner of North Boulder.
It was a place of soft colors,
gentle music,
and the quiet murmurs of new parents.
Jessi arrived in an armored SUV,
accompanied by two plainclothes security guards.
She carried Lily in a sleek,
high-tech car seat,
covered by a light breathable veil.
She knew the Vances were watching.
She had seen the battered sedan following them from a distance,
the same car Luca had been seen driving near the motel.
She didn't speed up.
She didn't try to lose them.
She wanted them to come.
Inside the clinic,
the staff was alerted.
The waiting room was nearly empty,
a deliberate scheduling choice made by Phoebe’s team.
Jessi sat down,
her eyes on the front door.
Ten minutes later,
the door swung open with a violence that didn't belong in a doctor’s office.
Wendy Vance marched in,
looking every bit the grieving grandmother.
She wore a black dress and a string of fake pearls,
her face twisted into a mask of dramatic sorrow.
Luca and Stephanie followed close behind,
Luca holding his phone up as if he were recording a documentary.
“There she is!”
Wendy shrieked,
pointing at Jessi.
“There is the woman who stole my son’s life!
The woman who is keeping me from my flesh and blood!”
Jessi didn't move.
She didn't stand up.
She didn't even look away from the magazine she was holding.
The two security guards stepped forward,
forming a human wall between Jessi and the Vances.
“Mrs. Vance,”
one of the guards said,
his voice calm and booming.
“You are in violation of a restraining order.
You need to leave the premises immediately.”
“I have a right to see my granddaughter!”
Wendy screamed,
her voice reaching a fever pitch.
“Look at her!
She’s sitting there like a queen,
while we sleep in a motel!
She’s heartless!
She’s a monster!”
Luca stepped around his mother,
aiming the phone at Jessi’s face.
“Say something,
Jessi!”
he shouted.
“Tell the world why you’re doing this!
Tell them why you kicked us out in the rain!
The people deserve to know the truth!”
Jessi slowly looked up.
She met Luca’s eyes through the camera lens.
She didn't look angry.
She looked bored.
“The truth,
Luca?”
she said,
her voice quiet but carrying through the room.
“The truth is that you’re trespassing.
The truth is that you’re harassing a mother and her child.
And the truth is...
that the police are already in the parking lot.”
As if on cue,
the blue and red lights began to flash against the clinic’s windows.
The sound of sirens grew louder,
wailing as they pulled into the driveway.
Wendy’s face went from rage to terror in a heartbeat.
“Luca,
let’s go!”
she hissed,
grabbing his arm.
“No!”
Luca shouted,
his desperation overriding his common sense.
“I’m her father!
They can’t arrest me for seeing my kid!”
The front door burst open,
and four police officers entered the room,
their hands on their utility belts.
“Luca Vance?”
the lead officer asked.
“You’re under arrest for violation of a protective order and stalking.”
“Wait!”
Wendy cried.
“I’m the grandmother!
I didn't do anything!”
“Wendy Vance?”
the officer turned to her.
“We have a warrant for your arrest as well.
Inquiry regarding a fraud case out of Chicago.
You’re coming with us.”
The scene turned into a chaotic mess of shouting and struggling.
Stephanie tried to run for the back exit,
but she was intercepted by a female officer.
Luca was tackled to the floor,
his phone skittering across the tile,
still recording.
Jessi watched as they were handcuffed.
She watched as Wendy’s fake pearls broke,
the white beads scattering across the floor like tiny,
hollow skulls.
She watched as Luca was dragged out,
his face pressed against the glass door he had once dreamed of owning.
Throughout it all,
Jessi stayed seated.
Lily didn't even wake up.
The baby remained in her peaceful sleep,
unaware that the monsters had finally been taken away.
The lead officer walked over to Jessi,
tipping his cap.
“Are you alright,
Ms. Miller?”
“I’m fine,
Officer,”
Jessi said.
“Thank you for your prompt response.”
“We’ve been tracking them since they left the motel,”
the officer said.
“Your attorney provided us with a very detailed itinerary of their movements.
They didn't stand a chance.”
Jessi nodded.
She looked at the scattered beads on the floor.
The "Grandmother’s Gambit" had failed.
The Vances weren't going to a mansion.
They weren't even going back to the motel.
They were going to a place where the walls were made of concrete and the codes couldn't be changed by a smart phone.
“Is it over?”
Evelyn asked,
stepping out from a back room where she had been waiting.
“For now,”
Jessi said,
standing up and picking up the car seat.
“But we still have to finish the paperwork.
I want to make sure they never get out.”
She walked out of the clinic,
passing the police cars where Luca and Wendy were being loaded into the back.
She didn't look at them.
She didn't give them the satisfaction of her gaze.
She just walked to her SUV,
May you like
the architect of a new,
cleaner world.
