Chapter 2 The Handcuffs and the History

The hallway was spinning. Monique's feet didn't move, though Harris's voice cut through the thickness of her panic like a blade.

"I said, step outside."

His eyes were hard. Not angry. Not confused. Just... cold. Like he had never known her. Like she wasn't the woman he used to whisper his dreams to at 2 a.m. in that tiny apartment with the leaky ceiling.

"Harris..." Her voice cracked, dry in her throat. "What, what are you talking about? Juliette Morris is, she's dead?"

His jaw tightened. "Turn around."

"No, wait." Monique stepped back instinctively. "There's a mistake. I didn't."

"You can explain it at the station." He pulled out his handcuffs with mechanical ease.

"Harris!" she snapped, more force in her voice now. "You know me. You know me. I didn't kill anyone!"

He didn't flinch. "That's for the courts to decide."

Cherry cried out from behind the couch. "Mommy?"

Monique's chest squeezed so tight it felt like something inside her cracked. "Please," she whispered. "My daughter's right there."

Harris hesitated, only a beat, before calling over his shoulder. "Officer Lane!"

Another officer appeared, tall, dark-skinned, younger. Nervous in a way Harris wasn't.

"Secure the kid," Harris said.

"Sir?"

"She's two," Monique cut in, stepping in front of Lane, arms wide. "She doesn't need to be 'secured.' She needs me."

"I'll stay with her," Lane offered gently. "Just until someone from Child Services can"

"No!" Monique gasped. "You're not taking her. You're not taking my baby."

Harris reached for her wrist. "Monique."

"Don't touch me!"

He stopped, barely.

Monique turned and dropped to her knees beside Cherry, gathering her into her arms. "Listen to me, baby," she said softly. "Mommy has to go with them for a little bit, okay? But I'll be back. I swear it."

Cherry clung to her neck, sobbing. "No go! Stay here! Stay here!"

"I know, I know," Monique murmured. Her tears slid silently into Cherry's curls. "This is just a mistake. You'll be okay. Ruby's gonna come. Auntie Ruby, remember?"

Cherry sniffled but nodded. Ruby was her godmother. Her safe person when Monique had no one.

Monique kissed Cherry's cheek, then turned and stood, her spine straightening like a final act of rebellion.

"Let's go," she said.

Harris cuffed her wrists. The metal bit her skin, colder than she remembered.

As they stepped outside, her neighbors had already gathered, Mrs. Devine in her robe, Mr. Krieger in his lawn chair, squinting. Phones were out. Recording.

Monique looked straight ahead.

Don't give them anything.

The ride to the station was silent. Harris drove. Lane sat beside her in the back, notebook in hand, not writing.

"Why now?" Monique finally asked. "Why arrest me now?"

Harris didn't answer.

"I have a child, Harris. You didn't even ask if she was safe. Or fed. Or terrified out of her mind."

Still nothing.

"I trusted you once."

That made him glance in the rearview mirror. His eyes flickered. But he looked away again.

"Save it for your lawyer."

She scoffed. "Don't worry. I will."

They booked her like a stranger. Fingerprints. Mugshot. Shoe laces taken. A paper cup of lukewarm water placed on a metal table in a gray-walled room.

She sat alone for what felt like hours.

Then the door opened.

And Ruby stormed in like a thunderclap.

"Don't say a word," she snapped, striding past the officer escorting her. "Don't even breathe unless I say so."

Monique stood, and for a moment, the weight cracked. "Ruby, Cherry, is she-"

"She's with me," Ruby said firmly. "Safe. She fell asleep in the car."

Monique sagged in relief, and Ruby wrapped her in a brief but strong hug.

"Now sit down. We've got a mess to clean."

Monique obeyed. Ruby pulled out her folder, flipping through it.

"They're charging you with second-degree murder. Claim you were seen near Ms. Morris's property the night Juliette died. That you had motive, some feud over an inheritance, according to Mr. Billy."

Monique stared. "Billy? That's insane. I haven't seen Billy in years."

"He's pushing this hard," Ruby said, eyes narrowing. "Claims you threatened Juliette."

"I barely knew her! I met her once, once at the bar. I smiled at her, said hello, and that was it."

Ruby shut the file. "Then we fight."

Monique leaned forward, lowering her voice. "There's more, Ruby."

Ruby's brow furrowed. "How much more?"

Ruby stopped pacing. "Alright. First things first, your bail hearing is tomorrow morning. I'll be there. We'll push for release under supervision. You've got a kid. That helps."

"Do they really think I killed Juliette?"

"Someone does," Ruby said grimly. "Or someone wants the world to think you did. Either way, we're going to peel this lie back layer by layer."

Monique swallowed. "I'm scared."

Ruby reached across the table. "I'm not. And I'm not leaving you alone in this.

That night, Monique slept on a cot in a holding cell, curled into herself, the chill of the concrete floor seeping into her bones. The silence was heavy, heavier than any prison bars.

She closed her eyes and pictured Cherry's face.

Sweet.

Sleepy.

Scared.

She whispered into the dark, "I'll come back for you, baby. I promise."

And across the city, in a warm apartment lit by a single lamp, Cherry slept in Ruby's arms, still clutching her bunny.

And somewhere in the dark, someone smiled at Monique's fall.

But they didn't know her fire.

Not yet.