Chapter 2 - The Locks Are Changed
Daniel looked at his feet, then at the broken crib lying in the frozen grass, then back at my father.
"The house is in my name!" Daniel asserted, trying desperately to salvage a shred of leverage. "I paid the mortgage for three years! You can't throw me out of my own home!"
Arthur Vance, the chief attorney, stepped forward, pulling a thin leather portfolio from his coat. He opened it and adjusted his reading glasses.
"Actually, Mr. Glass, that is legally incorrect," Arthur stated calmly. "This property at 142 Whispering Pines Way was purchased in 2019 by the Montgomery Family Revocable Trust. You were granted a permissive occupancy lease contingent upon your marriage to Claire Montgomery Harlow."
Arthur pulled out a second document signed with a blue wax seal.
"Clause 14, Section B of the occupancy agreement clearly states that in the event of domestic abuse, marital infidelity, or physical destruction of property belonging to the trust, the occupant's permissive lease is revoked instantly without prior notice."
Arthur looked up from his papers with a chilling smile.
"In short, Daniel... you are currently trespassing on private property owned by Claire."
Daniel turned his furious, desperate eyes to me. "Claire! You set me up! You kept this from me for four years?!"
"I didn't set you up, Daniel," I said, stepping off the porch toward my father's car. "I trusted you. I gave you my heart, my youth, and a daughter. You chose to tear down her crib. You chose to bring your mistress into our bed. You set yourself up."
"You can't do this to me!" Daniel yelled, lunging forward toward me.
Before he could take two steps, Thomas Wright blocked his path, grabbing Daniel by the collar of his shirt and shoving him back onto the icy driveway.
"Touch her again, Glass, and I won't wait for the police," Thomas growled in a low threat.
Two locksmith vans, which my father had arranged before arriving, pulled through the iron gates and parked near the garage. Four locksmiths stepped out, carrying heavy toolboxes and fresh electronic deadbolts.
"Change every lock on the estate," Chairman Harlow ordered the locksmiths. "Main doors, side entrances, wine cellar, and the security gates. Mr. Glass and Miss Hale have five minutes to gather their personal clothing—and only their clothing—under security supervision before they are escorted off the premises."
Vanessa burst into full tears, her cheap arrogance completely shattered. "Daniel! Do something! Call your lawyer! Call the police!"
"Shut up, Vanessa!" Daniel snapped, grabbing his hair in pure panic. He looked at me, falling to his knees on the cold asphalt. "Claire... please! Think of Lily! She needs her father! I made a mistake! It was Vanessa—she seduced me! She manipulated me!"
Vanessa gasped in shock. "What?! You told me you hated her! You told me she was a lazy gold-digger!"
I didn't waste another second listening to their pathetic squabbling. I looked at my father, who opened the warm leather interior of the lead sedan for me.
"Take Lily inside the car, Claire," my father said softly. "Arthur and I will secure the house. We have an emergency board meeting at Harlow Tower at two o'clock. It's time you took your rightful seat on the board of directors."
I held my daughter close, smelling her sweet baby lotion, and stepped into the luxury car. As the automatic window rolled up, blocking out the frantic screaming of my soon-to-be ex-husband, I looked out at the broken white crib lying on the snow.
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The fragile housewife Daniel thought he had crushed was dead.
The heiress of Harlow Industries had just woken up.
