Chapter 7 - The Final Eviction
By Thursday, Richard was a broken man. The offshore accounts were frozen by federal court order. The news segment had aired, making them social pariahs in Pine Valley.
But Richard’s arrogance was a terminal disease.
He showed up at the Oak Creek estate at dusk. The heavy iron gates were locked, but he began screaming through the bars, violently rattling them.
"Clara! Open these gates! You owe me! I am a Sterling!"
I walked down the long driveway, stopping a few feet from the iron bars. I didn't bring the children. I faced him alone.
He looked unhinged. His expensive suit was wrinkled and stained. He hadn't shaved in days.
"You ruined me!" he spat, gripping the cold iron. "My friends won't take my calls. My lawyer quit. You took everything!"
"I took nothing," I corrected quietly. "David took it, to protect us from you. I merely executed his final wish."
"I am your family!" he roared, tears of rage and desperation in his eyes.
"You told me yourself, Richard," I replied, tilting my head. "Only true blood belongs under this roof. You treated my children like burdens. You treated me like a servant. You thought your money made you a god."
I stepped closer to the gate, looking him dead in the eyes. "You have no money. You have no home. You have no family. You are exactly what you always accused me of being: nothing."
I turned my back on him and walked back up the driveway.
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"Clara! Don't walk away from me! CLARA!"
His screams faded into the night as the private security team Marcus had hired stepped out of the shadows, physically removing Richard from the perimeter. He would never set foot near my home again.
