Chapter 5 - The Eviction
Thirty days later.
The gates of the Hidden Hills estate were pushed wide open. A line of commercial moving vans stood parked along the driveway, while two uniformed sheriff's deputies supervised the process.
Genesis Miller stood on her front lawn, watching in mute horror as movers carried out her vintage mahogany furniture, her crystal chandeliers, and her collection of fine art.
Because the estate had been used as collateral for the fraudulent loans Jackson had taken out, the court had ordered an immediate emergency liquidation of all Miller family real estate to satisfy the bank debts and repay the seven million dollars stolen from my firm.
Jackson sat on the stone steps leading up to the grand entrance, wearing a grey county jail jumpsuit, hand-fettered and waiting for the transport vehicle that would take him to state prison to begin his four-year sentence for felony assault and corporate fraud.
A sleek black town car pulled up to the estate circle.
The rear door opened, and I stepped out. I wore a tailored white trouser suit, my hair styled perfectly to hide the faint, neat line where my stitches had healed into a thin silver mark.
I walked up the driveway, my heels clicking rhythmically against the stone.
Genesis turned, her eyes burning with pure, unadulterated venom as she saw me approach. "You devil," she rasped, her voice dry and broken. "You destroyed my family. You put my son in prison! You took my home!"
I stopped two feet away from her, looking around at the grand estate that was now stripped bare.
"I didn't destroy your family, Genesis," I said softly, my voice calm and completely free of anger. "You destroyed it yourself the moment you believed that other people existed merely to serve your greed."
"Where am I supposed to go?!" Genesis wept, her aristocratic pride collapsing into pathetic desperation. "I have no money left! The bank took everything! I have nowhere to live!"
I pulled a small, white paper envelope from my jacket pocket and held it out to her.
Genesis looked at the envelope with a sudden, desperate flash of hope in her eyes. "What is this? A check?"
"No," I said softly. "It’s a lease agreement."
She blinked, confused. "A lease?"
"It’s a one-bedroom basement apartment in downtown Minneapolis," I explained. "It has no stairs, just like you wanted. The rent is twelve hundred dollars a month. Exactly the amount you demanded I pay you every month to live in my home."
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Genesis stared at the envelope as if it were a scorpion. Her lip trembled, but she couldn't take it.
I dropped the envelope onto the stone steps beside Jackson, turned on my heel, and walked back toward my waiting car.
