Chapter 4 - The Eviction(Approx. 1,800 words)
Seventy-two hours later.
The rain had stopped, leaving the manicured lawn of the Lakeview estate damp and glistening under the pale morning sun.
I sat in the passenger seat of Grandma’s luxury sedan, wrapped in a thick wool coat, watching through the tinted window as two marked Sheriff's Department cruisers pulled up to the front entrance of the house.
Beside the cruisers stood Victoria Vance and a team of four professional movers wearing dark blue uniforms.
Inside the house, the front door flew open. Julian stormed out onto the porch in his socks, holding a cup of coffee, his hair unwashed and wild. Behind him stood Evelyn, clutching a silk bathrobe around her neck, screaming at the two uniformed deputies stepping onto the stone porch.
"This is an absolute outrage!" Evelyn shrieking voice carried across the driveway. "My son is a Vance! You cannot kick us out of our own family home!"
The lead deputy, a stern woman with silver hair, pulled a laminated court order from her belt pocket.
"Julian Vance?" the deputy asked calmly.
"Yes, I am Julian Vance!" Julian yelled, pointing an angry finger at the movers. "Tell these people to get off my property before I have my lawyer sue every single one of you!"
"Mr. Vance, I am serving you with an Emergency Writ of Possession and an Active Protection Order issued by the County Circuit Court," the deputy stated, her voice flat and completely unimpressed. "The lease for 1420 Lakeview Drive is held exclusively by the Clara Vance Irrevocable Trust. Under the terms of the emergency order, your occupancy license has been revoked effective immediately due to domestic battery charges."
Julian’s face completely drained of color. "Domestic battery?! I didn't touch her! She left on her own!"
"The court has reviewed the forensic medical records from Saint Jude's Hospital, Mr. Vance," the deputy replied, gesturing to two deputies behind her. "You have forty-five minutes to pack your personal clothing and toiletries. All furniture, artwork, electronics, and household items purchased using trust funds remain secured on the premises."
"No! You can't do this!" Evelyn screamed, lunging toward the deputy. "Where are we supposed to go?! The hotels downtown are five hundred dollars a night!"
"I suggest you call a relative, ma'am," the deputy said, placing a firm hand on her belt to block Evelyn’s path. "Your thirty-minute timer starts now."
I watched through the car window as the movers stepped past Julian into the foyer, bringing in large cardboard wardrobe boxes.
Julian’s eyes darted frantically across the driveway until he spotted Grandma’s car parked near the gate. He broke away from the porch, sprinting toward us.
"Clara!" Julian screamed, slamming his hands against my window. "Clara, open the door! Please! Talk to me!"
The deputy tackled Julian back away from the vehicle within three seconds, forcing his arms behind his back against the wet hood of a police cruiser.
"Mr. Vance! You are violating a active distance protection order!" the deputy barked, snapping metal handcuffs around his wrists. "One more move and you're going straight to county jail!"
"Clara, please!" Julian sobbed, his face pressed against the cold metal of the police car. "I’m sorry! I was stupid! Mom told me you wouldn't actually leave! She said you were just dramatic! Please don't do this to me!"
I slowly rolled down my window two inches.
Julian looked up, tears smearing the dirt on his cheek, his eyes filled with desperate, frantic pleading.
"I asked you for my medical belt, Julian," I said, my voice quiet, cutting through the noise of the idling engines. "And you sold it for three hundred dollars cash while I was bleeding on your mother's floor."
"I was going to buy you a better one!" Julian lied frantically. "I swear! I needed the money for the caterer's deposit!"
"You used the money to pay off your betting debt from your friends," Grandma spoke up from the driver's seat, setting down her phone. "I spoke with your managing partner twenty minutes ago, Julian. Vance Capital has officially terminated your employment following an internal audit of your unauthorized expense claims."
Julian stared at his grandmother, his jaw dropping in sheer, unadulterated horror. "Grandma... no... you ruined my life..."
"No, Julian," Grandma replied coolly, shifting the car into drive. "You ruined your own life the second you thought you could treat a mother carrying your children like an entertainment prop."
As Grandma drove our car through the iron gates of the estate, I looked back through the rear window one last time.
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Evelyn was sitting on a cardboard box on the wet driveway, surrounded by three black trash bags filled with her clothes, weeping into her hands, while Julian was guided into the back of a police cruiser in handcuffs.
The house was quiet again. The nightmare was over.
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