Chapter 10 - Clearing Out the Trash
While Elena remained in the hospital for observation, I drove back to the estate. The house was quiet, echoing, and finally entirely mine.
I grabbed a roll of heavy-duty black trash bags from the kitchen and walked upstairs to my mother's extravagant master suite. I didn't fold anything. I didn't pack anything with care. I swept her thousand-dollar designer dresses, her expensive shoes, and her luxury handbags off the shelves and shoved them brutally into the plastic bags.
I did the same to Chloe’s room.
I hauled twenty heavy garbage bags down the grand staircase and dragged them out to the end of the long driveway, piling them next to the street for the trash collectors.
While I was working, a sleek black Town Car pulled up to the curb. It was my mother’s best friend, Beatrice, a wealthy socialite who lived in the neighborhood. She rolled down her window, looking horrified at the garbage bags.
“Marcus! What on earth are you doing? I heard the most horrific rumors that your mother was arrested!” Beatrice gasped.
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“They aren't rumors, Beatrice,” I said, tossing the last bag onto the pile. “She tortured my wife, and now she’s facing a decade in prison. If you want her things, feel free to load them into your trunk. Otherwise, the garbage truck comes at 6:00 AM.”
Beatrice’s jaw dropped. She quickly rolled up her window and sped away. The social exile had officially begun.
