Chapter 1 - The Christmas Morning Eviction Notice
At 7:00 a.m. on Christmas morning, the snow had stopped, leaving Cedar Falls buried under two feet of gleaming white ice.
Inside our former home, Corbin Mercer lay in the master bed, smiling as his mistress, Julianna, brought him a mug of coffee. His mother, Elaine, was downstairs in the kitchen, humming cheerfully while humming Christmas carols and rearranging my cookware to make room for Julianna’s designer kitchen gadgets.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
The heavy iron knocker on the front door echoed through the house.
Corbin frowned, pulling on a silk robe. "Who the hell is knocking on Christmas morning?"
He walked downstairs, opening the front door with an annoyed sigh.
Standing on the porch was not a carol singer. It was a county sheriff's deputy accompanied by my father, Colonel Everett Langston, who was dressed in a tailored wool overcoat, holding a manila envelope.
"Corbin Mercer?" the deputy asked sternly.
"Yes?" Corbin scoffed, looking past the officer at my father. "Everett? What is this? If Laura sent you to beg for her clothes back—"
"Corbin," the deputy interrupted, handing him a thick stack of papers. "This is an Emergency Ex Parte Injunction and Eviction Notice issued by the District Court, enforced under Federal Trust Protections. You, Elaine Mercer, and Julianna Vance have sixty minutes to vacate this property."
"What?!" Elaine shrieked, running out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon in her hand. "This is my son's house! He pays the mortgage!"
"Actually, Mrs. Mercer," my father said, his voice terrifyingly quiet, "he hasn't paid a dime. The primary trust paid off the entire mortgage three months ago. Your son is currently an illegal squatter on land owned outright by my granddaughter, Wren."
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Corbin’s face drained of all color. "That's impossible! I signed the deed!"
"You signed the deed to a trust you don't control," my father replied smoothly. "And as of 6:00 a.m., your bank accounts at Regional First have been frozen due to a primary lien forfeiture. You have fifty-nine minutes before the deputy arrests you for criminal trespassing."
