Chapter 13 - EVICTION
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Vanessa folded her arms across her chest, sneering down at me with pure contempt.
“Oh yeah? How does it change anything?”
I leaned forward and opened the red folder resting on the table.
“Because tomorrow morning at eight o’clock, the locks on every door in this house are being changed.”
Vanessa’s smug expression crumbled instantly. The color drained from her face, leaving her looking sickly and hollow.
“What?” she breathed.
“You and Brandon will be packing your bags and leaving,” I said clearly.
Linda jumped out of her chair so fast she almost knocked it over.
“You cannot throw my daughter into the street!” Linda screamed, her voice echoing off the high ceilings. “That is illegal!”
“I’m not throwing anyone into the street,” I replied calmly.
I reached into my bag one last time and pulled out a crisp white legal envelope, sliding it across the wet tablecloth until it stopped right in front of Vanessa.
Inside was a formal Notice to Vacate, drafted earlier that afternoon by a local real estate attorney I had hired the moment I saw my mother scrubbing the floors.
“You will receive whatever formal, legal notice is required by state law,” I said smoothly. “Thirty days. Everything will be handled strictly by the book.”
Vanessa stared down at the white envelope as if it were a venomous snake.
“You planned this?” she whispered, her voice trembling with hatred. “You set me up tonight?”
I looked at her, then turned my head to look at the faint red mark still visible on my mother’s wrist.
“No, Vanessa,” I said softly. “You planned it for me the moment you put your hands on my mother.”
For the first time all evening, the ruthless, arrogant Vanessa Carter had nothing to say. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
And then, from the middle of the table, Rachel quietly cleared her throat.
“There’s… something else I think you should know,” Rachel said, her voice hesitant as she looked around at the guests.
Everyone turned to stare at the real estate agent.
Vanessa’s eyes widened in sudden, sheer panic.
“Rachel, don't,” Vanessa warned, her tone threatening.
Rachel looked deeply uncomfortable, but she straightened her posture, looking directly at Brandon.
“I was invited here tonight because Vanessa asked me to conduct an informal, off-the-books valuation of this property,” Rachel revealed.
Brandon’s head snapped toward his wife so fast you could hear his neck pop.
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“What?” Brandon asked, his voice laced with confusion and horror.
Rachel continued carefully, picking her words with precision. “She told me you were considering using the home equity as collateral to secure a massive business loan for her new interior design firm.”
