Chapter 3 - The Eviction of the Parasites
By 1:30 PM, the grand Greenwich mansion—the very house where Sophia had spent three years maintaining gardens, selecting imported marble, and building a home—was surrounded by black SUVs and moving vans.
Ethan and Khloe rushed up the driveway in Ethan’s luxury sports car, only to find six large men in dark suits throwing cardboard boxes onto the manicured front lawn.
"Stop! What are you doing?!" Ethan screamed, jumping out of his car. "This is my house! I own this property!"
A man in a sharp grey suit holding a clipboard stepped forward. "Correction, Mr. Hayes. This property was registered under the name of Hayes & Romano Living Trust. Since you signed away all personal assets to settle your debt to Apex Global two hours ago, the trust has been dissolved. The sole owner of this property is now Miss Sophia Romano."
"Sophia Romano?!" Khloe shrieked, clutching Ethan’s arm. "Her name is Sophia Hayes! She’s a nobody! She’s a broke fashion designer whose father abandoned her!"
The front double doors of the mansion swung open.
Four medical technicians stepped out onto the wide stone porch, pushing an electric wheelchair.
Sitting in the wheelchair, dressed in a stunning tailored ivory suit, her dark hair styled into flawless waves, was Sophia. Her right leg was neatly resting on the foot support, the stark white cast visible beneath the hem of her trousers.
Beside her walked Don Vincenzo Romano, his silver-topped cane clicking firmly against the stone steps.
Ethan stumbled back, his eyes widening in absolute terror as he looked from Sophia to the legendary man standing beside her. Every business executive in the tristate area recognized the face of Vincenzo Romano—the untouchable king of the city's underbelly.
"S... Sophia?" Ethan stammered, his voice cracking like a terrified child's. "Who... who is that?"
Sophia looked down at her husband from the top of the porch steps. Her face was calm, unreadable, and utterly devoid of the warmth and devotion she had given him for three years.
"Ethan, let me introduce you," Sophia said, her voice smooth as silk. "This is my father, Vincenzo Romano."
Ethan felt as if the sky had fallen onto his shoulders. The memory of what he had told Sophia in the bedroom rushed back to haunt him: “You embarrassed me. Do you know who Khloe's father is? You should be grateful I married you at all.”
He had traded the daughter of the most dangerous man in the nation for the daughter of a bankrupt fraud.
"Sophia... baby..." Ethan fell to his knees on the concrete driveway, crawling forward like a dog. "Sophia, please! I didn't know! It was a mistake! Khloe seduced me! She tricked me into thinking—"
"Ethan!" Khloe yelled in disbelief, slapping his arm. "What are you saying?!"
"Shut up, you bitch!" Ethan roared, turning on Khloe with wild, desperate eyes. "You ruined my life! You made me hurt my wife!"
Vincenzo raised his hand slightly. Two of his large operators instantly stepped forward, grabbing Ethan by the collar of his suit and hoisting him off the ground, pinning him against the hood of his sports car.
Vincenzo walked slowly down the steps, his cane clicking on the stone, until he stood inches from Ethan’s pale, sweating face.
"You laid hands on my blood," Vincenzo said softly. The quietness of his tone was far more terrifying than any shout. "You dragged her by her hair. You broke her bones. You locked her in the dark without food or water."
"I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll give her everything!" Ethan sobbed, tears and sweat pouring down his face. "Please, Don Romano! Have mercy!"
Vincenzo leaned in close, his dark eyes boring into Ethan’s soul.
"Mercy is for human beings, Mr. Hayes," Vincenzo whispered. "You are an animal. And animals are put in cages."
Vincenzo turned to Marco. "Seize the car. Seize his watch. Seize his shoes. Throw them off my daughter's land."
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Within five minutes, Ethan’s luxury car was hooked to a tow truck. His designer suit jacket, his gold watch, and his shoes were stripped from him, leaving him standing in his socks and undershirt on the public road outside the iron gates, alongside Khloe Vance, whose designer handbags were tossed into the dirt beside her.
The grand wrought-iron gates of the estate slammed shut, locking the two parasites out in the cold world they had earned.
