Chapter 18 - The Dinner of Wolves
Before anyone could speak, headlights swept across the living room curtains.
A long, black town car pulled into the driveway, followed by two dark sport-utility vehicles.
Detective Miller looked out the front window and cursed under his breath.
"It's Sterling," Miller said, his face tightening.
"He has four private security guards with him."
"And he’s holding official documentation."
"Do not let him inside," Harrison said, stepping toward the door.
"No," I commanded, my voice cutting through the panic with absolute authority.
Everyone turned to look at me.
The timid, grieving widow who had watched her cake get trampled on her sixty-fifth birthday was gone.
The woman standing in that kitchen was Daniel Vance’s wife.
"Let him in," I said calmly.
"Brenda, put the kettle on."
"Harrison, Sloan, stand beside me."
"Victoria, keep your attorneys behind the partition."
"If Arthur Sterling wants this house, he will look into the eyes of the family he tried to destroy."
Three minutes later, Arthur Sterling stepped through my front door.
He was a man in his late sixties, with perfectly styled silver hair, an expensive camel-hair overcoat, and the practiced, charismatic smile of a seasoned politician.
Two burly men in dark suits stood behind him on the porch.
"Mrs. Vance," Sterling spoke smoothly, taking off his leather gloves.
"I apologize for the late hour."
"I heard there was a disturbance on your property, and as the district's prospective representative, I felt it my duty to check on Daniel’s widow."
"You didn't come to check on me, Arthur," I said, meeting his gaze without flinching.
"You came because your hired thug failed to recover the ammunition box under my lemon tree."
Sterling’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second before hardening into an icy mask.
"I see you’ve been listening to old fairy tales," Sterling remarked, stepping into the hallway.
"Evelyn, let us be reasonable adults."
"This property is situated on unstable ground."
"The city issued an emergency condemnation order twenty minutes ago due to soil toxicity."
He withdrew a blue-backed legal document from his breast pocket.
"You have twenty-four hours to vacate the premises."
"The city will offer you fair market value—one point two million dollars."
"Take the check, take your son, and walk away."
May you like
"Because if you stay... the ground beneath your feet might swallow you whole."
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