Chapter 9 - The Midnight Eviction
The silence that remained in the basement after his colleagues left was suffocating and heavy.
Chloe was sobbing quietly by the door, finally realizing she had destroyed her life for a man who had absolutely nothing left to offer her.
"Clara, please, you have to be reasonable," Eleanor begged, her previous toxic aggression completely replaced by desperate panic.
"He is your husband, you cannot just throw him out into the cold night like a stray dog!"
"I am not just throwing him out, Eleanor," I corrected her with a cold, terrifying smile.
"I am throwing all of you out."
I walked over to the basement control panel and hit the button that deactivated the neighborhood gate access for their vehicles.
"Chloe, your employment is officially terminated effective immediately," I stated, not even looking at the crying girl.
"You have exactly ten minutes to pack whatever fits into that single battered suitcase you arrived with."
"If you try to take a single designer item I purchased for you, I will have you arrested for grand theft."
Chloe nodded frantically, practically sprinting up the stairs to escape my wrath.
"As for you, Marcus," I said, pointing at the exit. "You are leaving right now, exactly as you are."
"I need to get my clothes, my laptop, my watch!" Marcus protested, his voice cracking with sheer desperation.
"Everything inside this house was purchased with my money, which makes it my property until a judge says otherwise," I dictated coldly.
"You can call my lawyer on Monday to arrange a scheduled pickup of your cheap suits."
Marcus looked at his mother for help, but Eleanor was too busy trying to figure out how she was going to pay for her upcoming cruise.
"Get out of my house," I roared, my voice echoing violently off the expensive brick walls.
"All of you, get out before I call the police and have you legally trespassed from my property!"
The sheer force of my anger finally broke their stubborn resolve entirely.
David practically ran up the stairs, desperate to avoid any legal trouble.
Eleanor followed him closely, muttering toxic curses under her breath, her expensive cashmere shawl slipping off her shoulders.
Marcus lingered for one final second, looking at me with completely shattered, defeated eyes.
"You destroyed me, Clara," he whispered, a single tear rolling down his cheek.
"No, Marcus," I replied calmly, crossing my arms and standing tall in my crimson dress.
"I just finally turned on the lights."
He turned away and slowly walked up the stairs, a broken, empty shell of the arrogant man he used to be.
I followed them up to the foyer and stood on my massive front porch, watching as Marcus, Eleanor, and David walked out to their cars.
Chloe ran out the front door a minute later, dragging her cheap suitcase across the driveway, completely ignoring Marcus as she ordered a rideshare on her phone.
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I slammed the heavy custom oak door shut, locked the deadbolt, and leaned my head against the cool wood.
The house was finally, beautifully silent once again.
