Chapter 4 - The Eviction of Shadows
The look of absolute terror that crossed my mother’s face was worth every cent of the $486,000 I had lost. She stumbled backward, nearly tripping over Chloe’s designer luggage.
"Father..." Eleanor stammered, her voice dropping three octaves into a trembling whimper. "You... you can't do that. That house belongs to the Vance family name. It's my home."
"It was a Vance property," Grandfather said, his silver cane clicking firmly against the floor as he stood beside my bed like an ancient guardian. "But you signed the deed over as collateral to the holding company three years ago when you begged for an emergency bail-out for Chloe’s fraudulent boutique. I held the debt because I hoped you would change. Instead, you let your oldest daughter lay in a wrecked vehicle while you worried about a buffet on a ship. The eviction notice was filed with the county clerk ten minutes ago. You have forty-eight hours to vacate the property."
Chloe let out a sharp, hysterical shriek. "Where are we supposed to go? Avery, tell him he can't do this! You have a five-bedroom penthouse downtown! You have to let us stay there!"
I looked at my sister—the girl who had spent her entire twenties mocking my work ethic, calling me a "corporate drone" while spending my billable hours on luxury vacations.
"My penthouse has security, Chloe. If either of you comes within five hundred feet of it, or within five hundred feet of Eli, the police will arrest you for trespassing," I said, my voice deadpan. "Sarah, call the precinct. I want a formal restraining order filed against both of them based on the harassment and verbal threats made in this room today."
Eleanor realized the leverage had completely shifted. The weeping, helpless act she had used to control me for a decade was useless against the granite wall of my grandfather’s authority and my own sudden detachment.
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"You will regret this, Avery," Eleanor hissed, her eyes narrowing into venomous slits as the guards grabbed her elbows to escort her out. "You’re going to be an old, lonely woman raising a child by yourself in a cold house. Let’s go, Chloe. Let this freak have her empty room."
As the doors shut behind their shouting voices, the room finally fell silent. I looked down at my hands. They weren't shaking anymore. For the first time in nine years, I could breathe.
