Chapter 7 - Homeless
Eleanor, Arthur, and Chloe were running out of options. The cheap motel required payment upfront, and all their credit cards were declining. They had resorted to eating stale vending machine snacks for two days.
Desperate, Eleanor ordered Chloe to call her wealthy friends to ask for a loan.
"They won't pick up, Mom!" Chloe whined, throwing her phone onto the cheap bedspread. "The news about Julian’s federal indictment is all over the local news blogs. Nobody wants to be associated with us!"
Arthur paced the room, his face red and sweaty. "We have to get back into the estate. There are valuables in there—jewelry, watches, designer bags. If we can just get inside, we can pawn them for cash."
"It’s heavily guarded," Eleanor snapped. "But we have no choice. We wait until midnight."
Under the cover of darkness, the three of them took an Uber to the edge of the sprawling estate. They crept through the manicured hedges, shivering in the cold, feeling like criminals in the very yard they used to rule.
They reached the back patio doors. Arthur picked up a heavy decorative rock, preparing to smash the glass.
Suddenly, blinding floodlights illuminated the entire patio.
The three of them froze like deer in headlights. The automated voice of the high-end security system I had installed that morning blared through hidden speakers.
“Warning. You are trespassing on private property. Police have been dispatched.”
Before Arthur could drop the rock, two private security contractors stepped out from the shadows, their hands resting on their holstered tasers.
"Drop the rock, Arthur," I said, stepping out onto the patio, flanked by the guards.
"This is our home!" Eleanor shrieked, looking like a deranged witch in the harsh lighting. "You stole it from us!"
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"I am protecting my daughter’s assets," I replied coldly.
The wail of police sirens approached yet again. Arthur, Eleanor, and Chloe were arrested for attempted burglary and criminal trespassing. The mighty had not just fallen; they had hit rock bottom.
