I had forwarded him the copies of the bank fraud alerts and Melanie’s signed statement.

He had told me they were dispatching a unit to the address on the rental agreement.

“Lucas, you need to go outside,” Chloe said, her voice cracking. “Just talk to them.”

“No,” he whispered. “If I go outside, they’ll see me.”

“Who?” Chloe asked.

“The police,” he said.

He sounded small now.

The man who had spent months gaslighting me and manipulating my sister sounded like a cornered animal.

“They’re at the side gate,” Lucas whispered.

I heard the sound of metal scraping against concrete.

It was the sound of the heavy iron gate at the Palm Springs house being pushed open.

“Lucas, put your hands up,” Chloe pleaded.

“Shut up!” he screamed into the phone.

The sudden noise made Chloe flinch.

“You did this to me, Chloe,” he shouted. “You gave her the passwords.”

“I didn’t,” she sobbed. “I didn’t know.”

“You’re a fool,” he said.

“Don’t speak to her like that,” I said.

“I’ll burn it all down,” Lucas said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous register. “I’ll take every single one of you with me.”