Chapter 4 - The House of Cards Falls
The news of Sheila’s arrest hit the Moretti family like a fatal blow.
By Wednesday morning, Sheila was held in county jail on charges of felony evidence tampering and filing a false police report, with bail set at $50,000—money that Austin simply did not have.
Desperate and terrified, Austin drove to my small apartment in downtown Columbus. He didn't bring Sheila, nor did he bring my father. He came alone, pounding franticly on my door until I opened it.
When he saw me, he dropped to his knees right there in the hallway, grabbing the hem of my trousers.
"Summer! Please! I’m begging you!" Austin sobbed hysterically, tears streaming down his face. "Drop the charges against Sheila! She’s pregnant with my child! She can't stay in jail!"
I looked down at my brother—the boy I had protected when we were children, the man I had spent two years in prison to shield from his own mistakes.
"Get up, Austin," I said coldly.
"No! I won't get up until you promise to help us!" he wept, clutching my shoes. "We’re family, Summer! How can you be so heartless?! Sheila made a mistake, but she did it because she was scared of losing our home!"
"She tried to send me back to prison for three years, Austin," I said, my voice cutting through his crying like a blade. "She tried to ruin my life a second time, and you stood by and let her hit her own arm with an iron bookend to frame me."
Austin flinched, hiding his face in his hands.
"I didn't want her to do it..." he mumbled weakly.
"You never 'want' anything to happen, Austin," I said bitterly. "You didn't 'want' to drive drunk two years ago. You didn't 'want' to hit that pedestrian’s parked sports car. You didn't 'want' me to go to prison—you just let me take the fall because you were too coward to face the consequences of your own actions!"
Austin looked up at me, his eyes wide with shock. "Summer... I thought you forgave me for that..."
"I sacrificed two years of my youth for you because I believed you were worth saving," I said, leaning down until my eyes were inches from his. "I thought you loved me. But when I came home, you stood in the hallway while your wife sprayed me with rubbing alcohol and my mother threw two hundred dollars at my face."
I stood up straight and pulled a manila envelope from my leather handbag.
"Do you know what this is, Austin?" I asked.
He swallowed hard, shaking his head.
"This is a certified copy of the original audio recording from the night of your hit-and-run," I said calmly. "The recording where you confessed to driving drunk, where Mom swore on her life to give me the house, and where you promised to pay me back every single penny."
Austin’s breath caught in his throat. The faint color remaining in his face drained entirely. "You... you recorded us that night?!"
"I recorded it as insurance," I replied. "And thirty minutes ago, my attorney delivered a copy of this file directly to the Franklin County District Attorney’s office, along with a formal petition to reopen the investigation into the 2024 accident."
"No... no! Summer, you can't!" Austin shrieked, scrambling to his feet in panic. "The statute of limitations isn't up! If they reopen the case, I’ll be charged with felony hit-and-run, DUI, and perjury! I’ll go to prison for five years!"
"Then you had better start packing your bags," I said softly. "Because the police arrest warrant for your hit-and-run charge was signed an hour ago."
Before Austin could process the horror, heavy footsteps echoed down the apartment hallway.
Two detectives from the Columbus Police Department, accompanied by two armed officers, marched up to my door.
"Austin Moretti?" Detective Miller asked, drawing a folded paper from his coat.
Austin backed away in terror, his back hitting the wall. "No... please! It was an accident! Summer took the blame! Ask her!"
"Austin Moretti, you are under arrest for felony hit-and-run, obstruction of justice, and filing a fraudulent police statement," Detective Miller declared, grabbing Austin’s wrist and twisting it behind his back.
"Summer! Help me! Mom! Call Mom!" Austin screamed as the steel handcuffs snapped tightly over his wrists. "Summer, please! I’m your brother!"
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I stood at my doorway, watching silently as my brother was dragged down the hallway, his desperate cries echoing off the concrete walls until they faded into nothingness.
I closed my apartment door, took a long, deep breath, and felt the final chains of my past snap forever.
