Chapter 5 - The Legal Response
By three o'clock that afternoon, my private security team—four off-duty police officers I hired through my firm—arrived at the property.
They took up posts at the iron gates and the main doors. Vanessa was escorted to a nearby hotel under strict instructions that she was not permitted to return to the premises without a court order and police escort.
My attorney, Arthur Vance, arrived shortly after. He was a veteran trial lawyer with graying hair and an unflinching, sharp demeanor.
We sat in my study while my mother slept peacefully upstairs, finally resting in a clean bed with soft linens and no fear.
"The video evidence is damning, Ethan," Arthur said, reviewing the files on his laptop. "This isn't just a simple divorce. We have grounds for civil suits for intentional infliction of emotional distress, elder abuse, grand larceny, and corporate fraud."
"I don't care about the money, Arthur," I said, staring out at the manicured lawn. "I want her and her family completely cut off from my life. I want them to face every legal consequence available under the law."
"They will," Arthur assured me. "I’ve already filed an emergency ex-parte motion to freeze all joint accounts and revoke Vanessa’s access to your corporate credit lines. As of thirty minutes ago, her credit cards are worthless."
"What about her family's house?"
"Evelyn used the stolen $120,000 as a cash injection to stop her bank foreclosure," Arthur explained, pulling up a property record. "Since those funds were derived from criminal embezzlement, I’m filing a lis pendens against her home tomorrow. The court will freeze the property title. She won't be able to sell or re-mortgage it."
A knock on the study door interrupted us.
It was Rosa, my former head housekeeper. I had called her personally two hours ago, apologizing for her sudden termination six months ago and explaining what had really happened. She had broken down in tears over the phone and caught the first bus back to the estate.
"Mr. Ethan," Rosa whispered, holding a tray with two cups of fresh tea. "Mrs. Martha is awake. She’s asking for you."
I smiled—the first real smile I had felt all day. "Thank you, Rosa. Is she feeling better?"
May you like
"She was crying, sir," Rosa said softly, her eyes glistening. "Not because she’s sad... but because she said the bed was soft and nobody yelled at her when she woke up."
I squeezed my eyes shut, holding back the burning tears, and nodded. "Go take care of her, Rosa. She’s never going to be yelled at again."
