Chapter 5 - The Reclamation
At midnight, three black SUVs pulled up to the gates of the Bayside estate.
The security gates were locked, but I didn't care. I had the legal title reversion document, signed and notarized by the county clerk just an hour ago. Under the law, this house was officially mine again.
My security team quickly bypassed the gate lock, and we drove up the long, winding driveway. The house was dark, save for a single light burning in the study.
I pushed the front door open.
My mother and Julian were sitting at the dining table, surrounded by legal documents and half-empty bottles of wine. When they saw me walk in, accompanied by Evelyn Vance and four uniform security guards, Julian jumped to his feet.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Julian shouted, his face red with wine and anger. "I’ve already called our lawyers, Claire! You can't just kidnap my wife and then trespass on my property!"
"It’s not your property, Julian," Evelyn Vance said, stepping forward and tossing a thick stack of papers onto the table. "As of 10:45 PM tonight, the deed to this estate has officially reverted to Claire Vance. You are no longer residents. You are trespassers."
My mother stood up, her eyes wide with fury. "This is absurd! You can't evict us! I am your mother, Claire! I raised you!"
"You raised me to be strong, Eleanor," I said, stepping closer to her. "But you forgot to teach me how to ignore cruelty. You stood by and watched Emily starve. You called her a 'crazy maid' to your wealthy friends while she was dying at your feet."
"She is weak!" Eleanor screamed, her elegant facade completely breaking. "She always was! Julian is a good man. He just made some bad investments. If we didn't get her signature, we would have lost everything! We did what we had to do to survive!"
"And now, you have to survive the consequences," I said.
I looked at my security guards. "Pack their clothes in garbage bags. Throw them out of the gates. If they try to touch anything else in this house, call the police."
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"You can't do this!" Julian yelled as two large security guards grabbed him by the arms, dragging him toward the door. "I’ll sue you! I’ll take everything you have!"
"Try it, Julian," I said, not even looking back as they were carried out into the cold night rain. "I have the best lawyers in the country. And you don't even have a place to sleep tonight."
