Chapter 13 - The Eviction Notice
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At 11:00 AM sharp, the private elevator chimed on the fortieth floor.
Paxton sat behind his empty mahogany desk in the dim ballroom. The rain outside was beating heavily against the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The room was cold, dark, and silent.
The elevator doors slid open.
Lennox Aldrich walked out.
She wasn't wearing the silver dress. She wore dark denim jeans, a high-collared black turtleneck sweater, heavy leather boots, and a simple black trench coat. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight, professional knot. The faint blue mark along her left jawline was visible in the cold morning light.
Behind her stood two uniform federal marshals and U.S. Attorney Richard Sterling.
Paxton didn't stand up. He looked at her with wild, hollow eyes, a bitter, broken smile twisting his lips.
"You came back," Paxton whispered, his voice hoarse. "I knew you’d come back."
Lennox walked slowly across the polished marble floor, her leather boots clicking rhythmically in the cavernous space. She stopped ten feet from his desk.
"I didn't come back for you, Paxton," Lennox said calmly. "I came to collect my coat."
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Sterling stepped forward, pulling a legal document from his briefcase and laying it on the mahogany desk.
"Paxton Greer," Sterling announced loudly, his voice echoing off the high ceiling. "By order of the United States District Court, this property has been seized under federal asset forfeiture statutes. You are ordered to vacate these premises immediately."
