Chapter 6 - The Restraining Order
Two days after the board meeting, I returned to my downtown apartment after a long afternoon of physical therapy. The pain in my wrist was a constant, dull throb, but the cast kept my arm rigid and secure. As I stepped off the elevator onto my floor, I stopped dead in my tracks.
Standing in the hallway outside my door were two burly men in matching black polo shirts—private security guards. Standing between them, arms crossed over her cashmere coat, was my mother.
"Eleanor," I said, dropping my voice to a firm, commanding tone as I reached into my coat pocket to grip my canister of pepper spray. "You are violating a federal restraining order just by standing on this floor."
"I don't care about your stupid pieces of paper, Sydney!" Eleanor hissed, stepping forward, though her hired muscle stayed back, clearly uncomfortable with the legality of the situation. "Do you have any idea what you've done? The bank called this morning! They’ve frozen my personal checking accounts because Camille transferred money into them last month!"
"That means you were receiving stolen funds, Mom," I said coldly, keeping two yards of distance between us. "The federal authorities tend to frown upon money laundering, even when it’s done to pay for your country club dues."
"You are going to call your lawyer right now and tell him this was a misunderstanding!" she demanded, her voice shrill and desperate. "Camille is facing twenty years in prison! She’s your sister! How can you be so cold-blooded?"
"She broke my arm because I wouldn't let her rob our father's legacy," I replied, staring directly into her tear-streaked eyes. "She left me screaming on a marble floor while you told me to lie to the doctors. You both made your choices. Now you get to live with the consequences."
Before Eleanor could scream another insult, the elevator doors pinged open behind me. Harrison Grant stepped out, accompanied by two uniformed building security officers and a local police sergeant.
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"Mrs. Sterling," Harrison said smoothly, gesturing to the police officer. "I warned you about violating the order of protection. Officer, this woman and her hired contractors are trespassing and violating a mandatory stay-away order."
Eleanor went rigid as the sergeant stepped forward, pulling out his handcuffs. "Ma'am, turn around and place your hands behind your back. You're going downtown."
