Chapter 4 - The Fall at the Front Door
Margaret was standing in her front foyer, screaming into her cell phone at her attorney, when the heavy brass knocker sounded.
She yanked the door open, expecting to see me coming back to apologize.
Instead, she was met by Chief Miller, two uniformed deputies, and a county marshal holding a stack of legal notices.
"Margaret Sterling?" Chief Miller asked.
"What is the meaning of this intrusion?!" Margaret demanded, drawing her silk robe tighter around her neck. "Do you know who I am?!"
"Ma'am, you are under arrest for second-degree felony battery, reckless endangerment, and child abuse," Miller said, stepping into the foyer and pulling steel handcuffs from his belt.
Margaret backed away, her face flushing crimson. "Arrest?! Are you insane?! I am Margaret Sterling! My son is Daniel Sterling—"
"Your son is the primary victim's husband and the reporting witness, ma'am," Miller cut her off, catching her wrists and pulling them behind her back.
The cold metal clicked around her wrists.
"Get your hands off me!" Margaret shrieked, struggling against the deputy’s grip. "Mark! Greg! Call the mayor! Call the governor!"
Mark and Greg came rushing out of the living room, but the marshal stepped forward, raising a hand to block them.
"Mark Sterling, Gregory Vance," the marshal announced loudly. "This property has been placed under emergency corporate receivership by the majority shareholder, Daniel Sterling. An immediate Notice to Quit has been issued based on felony criminal activity occurring on the premises."
"You can't evict my mother from her own house!" Mark yelled, his hands shaking.
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"She doesn't own the house, sir," the marshal replied coldly, pulling out a copy of the deed. "Daniel Sterling owns fifty-one percent of the holding company. You have two hours to pack Mrs. Sterling’s personal items before the locks are changed and private security takes possession of the grounds."
Vanessa stood at the top of the stairs, clutching her designer bag, her eyes wide with terror as she watched her mother-in-law—the proud, untouchable matriarch—being led down the front stone steps in handcuffs in broad daylight, surrounded by neighbors who had come out onto their lawns to watch the drama unfold.
