Two days later, Mark sat across from his mother in the visitor booth of the county detention facility.
Evelyn wore an oversized orange prison jumpsuit, her hair unwashed and tangled, free of any makeup or jewelry.
She slammed her handcuffed fists onto the metal counter on her side of the partition.
Evelyn: You brought Arthur's old lawyer to freeze my bank accounts!
Mark: You brought poison to my house and shattered glass into my wife's head.
Evelyn: I gave my life to build that empire! Arthur had no right to write me out!
Mark: Dad saw through you years ago. He knew who you truly were behind the smiles and charity banquets.
Evelyn: You are my son! You are supposed to honor your mother!
Mark: A mother protects her family. A monster attacks an unborn baby.
Evelyn gripped the telephone receiver so hard the plastic creaked.
Evelyn: The judge denied my bail, Mark! They put me in general population!
Mark: The prosecutor reviewed the clinic security footage. They upgraded the charges to attempted murder.
Evelyn: Attempted murder?! That is absurd! It was a family argument!
Mark: The video shows you raising your heel to crush Claire's abdomen while she lay helpless on the floor.
Evelyn's mouth opened, but no words came out.
Mark: Did you really think you could lie your way out of high-definition video?
Evelyn: The camera was supposed to be disabled! Dr. Albright promised me the feed was cut!
Mark chuckled, a cold, bitter sound that chilled Evelyn to her core.
Mark: Albright cut a deal with the district attorney this morning. He handed over the full footage and testified that you bribed him with fifty thousand dollars.
Evelyn: That coward!
Mark: He didn't want to go to federal prison for accessory to murder. Can you blame him?
Evelyn: Mark, please... look at me. I am an old woman. I won't survive five years in prison.
Mark: The state guidelines suggest twenty to twenty-five.
Evelyn: No... no, that cannot be true. You have to hire the best defense team! Use the trust fund!
Mark: The trust fund doesn't belong to you. And it doesn't belong to me either.
Evelyn: What do you mean?
Mark: Claire signed the paperwork yesterday. Every dollar is being moved into a protected trust for the baby.
Evelyn: That girl took everything from me!
Mark: You took everything from yourself the second you picked up that bottle of poison.
The guard behind Evelyn stepped forward, tapping his baton against the metal chair.
Guard: Visiting time is over. Stand up and step back.
Evelyn: Mark! Don't hang up! Don't leave me here!
Mark slowly placed the telephone receiver back onto its metal cradle.
He stood up, smoothed his jacket, and turned his back on the weeping woman behind the reinforced glass.
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