PART 4: The Eviction
“Hey! Christian’s back!” Michael yelled, his speech slurred as he raised the bottle. “Brother! You gotta see the new sports car! It’s got—”
“Michael, shut up!” Jennifer shrieked, clutching her designer purse to her chest as the first blue and red lights began to flash through the manicured hedges of the front estate.
The heavy, rhythmic thud of car doors closing echoed from the driveway.
Two county sheriffs, accompanied by my lead corporate attorney, walked through the side gate of the patio. My attorney, Marcus, carried a thick, leather-bound folder of certified documents.
“Mr. Hale,” Marcus said, tipping his hat to me and Emma. “The emergency injunction has been signed by the judge. The title to this property, which was fraudulently transferred into Margaret Hale’s name last year using a forged power of attorney, has been reverted back to the Thornton-Hale trust.”
Margaret let out a choked, horrified scream. “Forged? I am his mother! I have the right to manage his estate!”
“Not when the signature on the deed was notarized while Mr. Hale was in Tokyo, Mrs. Hale,” Marcus said coldly, presenting a warrant to the sheriff. “And not when the notary has already confessed to receiving a fifty-thousand-dollar bribe from your daughter, Jennifer.”
The sheriff stepped forward, his eyes locking onto Jennifer. “Jennifer Hale, you are under arrest for grand larceny, notary fraud, and corporate embezzlement. You have the right to remain silent…”
“No! Christian, please!” Jennifer wept as the cold metal handcuffs clicked around her wrists, her designer bracelets clattering against the steel. “It was Michael’s idea! He wanted the car! He said you have so much money you’d never notice!”
“Take them all,” I said, not even looking back as the deputies led my crying sister and my stunned, silent brother toward the driveway.
I turned to my mother, who stood frozen on the patio, her gold jewelry suddenly looking like heavy, cheap brass under the harsh outdoor floodlights.
“You have thirty minutes to pack a single suitcase, Mother,” I said, my voice empty of any remaining warmth. “The sports car, the SUV, and the jewelry you bought with my corporate cards are being seized tonight. By tomorrow morning, the locks on this gate will be changed. If you or Michael ever step foot on this property again, I will have you arrested for trespassing.”
As Margaret slowly dragged herself inside the house, her empire of stolen luxury crumbling around her, I turned to Emma and pulled the small velvet box from my pocket…
