Chapter 3 - The Midnight Eviction
Diane’s face transformed from indignant rage into a mask of pure, ugly disbelief.
“Revoked?” she spat, marching around the table toward Director Vance.
“Are you utterly insane?”
“My husband bought this estate with the proceeds from the Morrison Group’s public expansion!”
“This house has our name on the front iron gates!”
Director Vance reached inside his breast pocket and pulled out a leather-bound folio containing embossed legal documents.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the stack onto the center of the dining table, knocking over Diane’s wine glass.
Deep red wine soaked into the parchment, highlighting the official crimson seal of Apex Vanguard Holdings.
“Read line twelve, Mrs. Morrison,” Vance instructed calmly.
“The property legally registered as 14 Whispering Pines was acquired on August 14th by Apex Vanguard Special Asset Division.”
“It was designated as an executive residence for the provisional Chief Operating Officer under the strict condition of company solvent compliance.”
“The sole signatory, sole owner, and primary shareholder of Apex Vanguard Holdings is sitting right there.”
Vance pointed directly at me, shivering beneath the heated thermal blanket.
“Cassidy Vance-Sterling.”
Brendan’s face drained of every ounce of color, turning the shade of spoiled milk.
“Cassidy... Sterling?” he muttered, the name catching in his throat like a shard of glass.
“The Sterling Industrial Dynasty from Chicago?”
“You told me your family owned a small hardware logistics shop!”
I looked up through my damp strands of hair, meeting his horrified gaze with cold detachment.
“We did, Brendan,” I replied softly, my voice cutting through the humid air of the dining hall.
“We owned the logistics network that supplied every rail and shipping line in the eastern hemisphere.”
“I never lied to you.”
“You simply never cared to ask beyond what you assumed suited your pathetic ego.”
Jessica sprang to her feet, her voice shrill and laced with panic.
“Brendan, tell them to get out!”
“Call the private security team downstairs!”
“Call your chief of security, Mark!”
Vance allowed himself a thin, razor-sharp smile.
“Mark was an Apex Vanguard contractor, Miss Palmer.”
“He and his entire security detail were relieved of their duties four minutes ago with full severance.”
“The perimeter is now secured by Vanguard Asset Protection.”
Vance checked his platinum wristwatch with excruciating slowness.
“It is currently 9:14 PM.”
“Under the terms of the executive misconduct clause triggered by the physical assault on Chairwoman Sterling, this property is being sealed for forensic asset recovery.”
“You have precisely six minutes to vacate the premises.”
Diane let out a theatrical shriek of rage.
“I am seventy-two years old!”
“You cannot evict me from my own home in the middle of a torrential downpour!”
“This is my furniture!”
“Those are my antique chandeliers!”
“Not a single thread in this house belongs to you, Mrs. Morrison,” Vance responded without a shred of pity.
“The chandelier above your head was purchased via Apex invoice number 409.”
“The dresses in your walk-in wardrobe were bought on executive charge cards registered under Vanguard Hospitality.”
“Even the very diamond earrings you are wearing were classified as corporate promotional expenses.”
Two armed security officers stepped forward, flanking the double doors.
“Please step away from the dining table and move toward the driveway immediately,” the lead officer commanded.
Jessica looked at Brendan in sheer horror, grabbing his sleeve with desperate fingers.
“Brendan! Do something!”
“Tell them this is a mistake!”
Brendan lunged toward me, his hands reaching out across the table in desperation.
“Cassidy! Baby, listen to me!”
“This is Diane’s fault, she took the joke too far!”
“You know how my mother is!”
“We are having a child together, Cassidy!”
Before his fingers could come within three feet of my blanket, two tactical officers grabbed Brendan by his arms, twisting them behind his back and pinning him against the wall.
“Touch her again, Mr. Morrison,” Vance whispered in his ear, “and the assault charge will be upgraded to an assassination attempt on a sovereign corporate officer.”
I stood up slowly, supported by the arm of the gentle paramedic.
My wet clothes were cold, but beneath the thermal fleece, my body was warming up.
I looked Brendan directly in his wide, terrified eyes.
“I gave you seven years of my life, Brendan.”
May you like
“And you paid me back with ice water and laughter.”
“Take your mistress and your mother, and walk out of my house.”
