Chapter 4 - Rattling the Cage
By 6:00 p.m., the temperature outside had dropped to fifteen below zero.
Inside Ray’s sprawling three-story suburban house—the house my mother’s money had paid to renovate—Ray and Daniel were sitting in the living room, drinking scotch by a roaring stone fireplace, completely unaware that their world had already been turned to dust.
I didn't knock. I used my mother’s spare key, stepping into the warm, hardwood foyer with Marcus and two state police detectives behind me.
Ray bounced out of his leather armchair, his face flush with anger. "What is the meaning of this?! You are trespassing in my home!"
"This isn't your home, Ray," I said calmly, taking off my gloves. "This home is held under the Evelyn Vance Revocable Trust. And as of two hours ago, I have been reinstated as the sole trustee, with full power to revoke all residential access rights."
Daniel scrambled to his feet, holding his phone out like a shield. "You can't do this! I just tried to use my corporate credit card at the gas station and it was declined! What did you do to my accounts?!"
"Your accounts don't exist anymore, Daniel," I said, looking at my pathetic younger brother. "Every line of credit tied to Vance Global Enterprises has been terminated. Your luxury sedan out in the driveway? Repossessed forty minutes ago by the leasing agency after I alerted them that the primary corporate guarantor was under federal indictment for fraud."
"Indictment?!" Ray roared, his face turning a dark, dangerous purple. "You crazy little bitch! I made this family! I gave your mother a life after your deadbeat father died!"
SLAP!
The sound echoed through the high-ceilinged room like a gunshot.
It wasn't Marcus who hit him. It was me.
I took one step forward and struck Ray across the face with the full force of my palm, driving him back against his velvet couch. His lip split instantly, blood dripping onto his pristine white rug.
"Don't you ever speak my father's name," I snarled, stepping into his shadow, my voice so cold it made the police detectives behind me shift uncomfortably. "My father died of cancer while working eighty hours a week so Daniel and I could go to school. You were a crooked municipal magistrate who got forced out of the county court for taking kickbacks from defense attorneys!"
Ray stared at me, clutching his bleeding mouth, his eyes filled with a sudden, primitive terror. For the first time in fifteen years, he realized he wasn't dealing with a quiet, obedient stepdaughter. He was dealing with a predator.
"You took my mother’s shoes, Ray," I whispered, leaning down until my eyes were inches from his. "You made her stand on frozen concrete in her bare feet until her toenails split. You called her crazy. You made her feel abandoned."
I stood up straight, smoothing my blazer.
"Detectives," I said without looking back. "Serve the eviction warrants and the temporary restraining orders."
Detective Hayes stepped forward, pulling out a sheaf of legal notices. "Raymond Vance, Daniel Vance. You have fifteen minutes to gather your personal clothing and vacate these premises. You are forbidden from coming within one thousand feet of Evelyn Vance, Clara Vance, or any property belonging to the Vance Trust."
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"Vacate?!" Daniel shrieked, his voice cracking like a child’s. "It’s fifteen below zero outside! Where are we supposed to go?!"
"I suggest you check into a hospital," I smiled, a dark, terrible smile that held zero warmth. "I hear the pavement outside the East Gate is lovely this time of year."
