Chapter 3 - The Eviction
Dawn broke over the city in a wash of cold gray light.
Judith Vale, having spent a miserable night in a holding cell, was released on a temporary bond pending charges. She took a cab straight back to the mansion, exhausted, furious, and planning her revenge against Martin.
But when the cab pulled up to the circular driveway, the iron gates were padlocked shut.
Four black SUVs were parked on the lawn. A team of men in dark suits were carrying boxes of the Vales' belongings out the front door and stacking them unceremoniously on the wet curb.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Judith shrieked, paying the cab driver and marching toward the gate. “I will have you all arrested for burglary!”
A tall man in a tailored suit stepped forward. It was David Ross, Martin’s lead corporate attorney. He held a thick stack of manila folders.
“Judith Vale,” David said smoothly. “Under the terms of your lease agreement—which was heavily subsidized by a shell corporation owned by Martin Sterling—any act of felony domestic violence committed on the premises results in immediate forfeiture of the property. Your lease is terminated.”
“You can’t do this! We have nowhere to go!” Judith screamed, clutching the iron bars.
May you like
“I suggest a motel, Mrs. Vale,” David replied, turning his back. “Your credit cards have been frozen due to suspected embezzlement from Sterling Holdings. Have a pleasant morning.”
Judith collapsed onto her designer luggage on the wet sidewalk, finally realizing that she had provoked a sleeping dragon.
