Chapter 12 - The Eviction
I sat in the back of Elias’s heavily tinted, armored SUV, parked discreetly across the street from my own house. The snow had stopped falling, leaving the neighborhood draped in a deceptive, peaceful blanket of white.
Ten minutes later, a ride-share pulled up to the curb. Derek and Vivian stepped out, shivering in their expensive coats. Derek marched furiously up the driveway, stabbing his key into the front door.
It didn't turn.
He jiggled it violently, kicking the base of the door. "What the hell is wrong with this lock?!" he shouted.
Suddenly, the front door swung open. But it wasn't a maid or a butler standing in the foyer. It was two uniformed police officers, flanked by Naomi Chen.
Derek froze, his jaw dropping. He looked from the officers to Naomi, who was holding a stack of legal documents.
"What is going on here?" Derek demanded, puffing out his chest to regain his bravado. "Who are you people? You can’t be in my house! I want you out immediately!"
Naomi stepped forward, her expression completely neutral, and pressed the thick stack of papers directly against Derek’s chest.
"Derek Grant, you are hereby served with an emergency protective order," Naomi said, her voice carrying clearly across the quiet street. "You are legally barred from entering this premises, and you must remain five hundred feet away from Lena Grant at all times."
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"You can’t remove me from my own home!" Derek screamed, his face turning an ugly, mottled red. "I pay the bills here! I'm the man of the house!"
Naomi handed him a secondary document. "I suggest you read the deed, Mr. Grant. You are not a homeowner. You are a guest whose invitation has been permanently revoked."
