Chapter 16 - The Eviction
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By three o'clock that afternoon, the news of the boardroom coup had hit the financial presses. The Bennett stock, which had been plummeting since the engagement dinner, suddenly stabilized. The market loved a dramatic takeover, especially one backed by the shadow of the Moretti fortune.
Norah and Adrien sat in the back of the Maybach, pulling up to the massive wrought-iron gates of the Bennett family mansion—the same mansion where she had been humiliated just forty-eight hours prior.
“Are you sure you want to do this yourself?” Adrien asked, his thumb tracing circles on the back of her hand. “I can send Marco to throw them out on the street. It would take five minutes.”
“No,” Norah said firmly. “I need to do this.”
They walked through the front doors. The mansion was in chaos. Movers were frantically packing expensive vases and artwork into cardboard boxes. Celeste was standing in the foyer, screaming at a maid to pack her furs carefully.
When Celeste saw Norah walk in, her face twisted in rage.
“You ungrateful little bitch!” Celeste shrieked, marching toward her. “You stole our company! You destroyed your sister’s life!”
Adrien stepped forward, but Norah put a hand on his chest, stopping him. She stepped up to her mother, towering over her both in height and in power.
“I didn't steal anything, Mother,” Norah said coldly. “I took back what Grandma left me. The same inheritance you and Dad tried to steal from me to fund Vanessa’s shopping habits.”
Celeste faltered, realizing for the first time that the quiet, submissive daughter she had bullied for decades was truly gone.
“You can't kick us out of our home,” Celeste cried, trying to play the victim. “Where will we go?”
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“This house is owned by the Bennett Luxury Group corporate trust,” Norah stated, holding up a legal eviction notice. “Since you and Richard no longer work for the company, you no longer receive housing benefits. You have twenty-four hours to vacate the premises. Take your clothes. Leave the art, the cars, and the jewelry—they belong to the company.”
Norah turned and walked out the door, leaving her mother screaming into the empty, echoing foyer.
