Chapter 3 - The EvictionJulian’s hand shook so violently that it took him three attempts to grip the pen.
He looked at the document spread out before him—the uncontested divorce decree that surrendered every claim to my assets, my trust, and my future. He looked up at me one last time, searching my face for a single shred of the quiet, forgiving wife who used to wait for him with warm meals and open arms.
He found nothing. Only the cold reflection of a woman who had survived the fire he had left her in.
With a ragged breath, Julian signed his name across the bottom line.
Julian E. Vance.
"It's done," Mr. Harrison said, stepping forward immediately to take the signed document, stamping it with his official notary seal, and sliding it securely into his briefcase. "I will file this with the County Clerk at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. As of this moment, Julian, you have no legal right to remain on this property."
Julian stared at his hands, hollowed out, stripped of everything he thought defined his worth.
"You have thirty minutes to pack your five luxury suitcases and leave," I said, stepping toward the front hall closet. I pulled out his old winter coat—the one he had left behind three years ago—and tossed it onto the sofa beside him. "The ten thousand dollars bequeathed to you by Eleanor has been transferred into a cashier's check. Mr. Harrison has it in his briefcase. Take it, take your mistress, take your son, and get out of my house."
"Where are we supposed to go?!" Chloe demanded, her voice shrill, tears of frustration smearing her makeup. "We don't have a hotel booked! Our return flight to Toronto isn't until Friday!"
"There’s a Motel 6 near the highway," I replied, pointing toward the front door. "It’s twenty-nine dollars a night. It should fit your new budget quite well."
"You monster!" Chloe spat, holding her crying child as she dragged Julian by his arm. "Julian, get up! We are calling a lawyer! My father will destroy her!"
Julian stood up slowly, looking like a ghost in his expensive suit. He didn't look at Chloe, nor did he look at the baby. He walked over to the altar, staring at his mother’s picture one last time.
"I'm sorry, Mom," he whispered, his voice choking on the words.
"She can't hear you, Julian," I said, standing near the open front door as the cold evening wind swept into the foyer. "And even if she could, she already gave her answer."
Ten minutes later, the three of them dragged their heavy designer luggage down the front steps. The streetlights of Elmwood Avenue flickered on, casting long, dark shadows across the wet pavement. Chloe was screaming into her phone, trying frantically to reach her father in Canada, while Julian stood near the curb, holding a single cashier's check for ten thousand dollars, staring up at the brightly lit windows of the house he no longer owned.
I stood at the window, watching their silhouettes vanish into the night fog.
Mr. Harrison walked up behind me, placing a gentle, fatherly hand on my shoulder. "You held your ground beautifully, Elena. Eleanor would be so remarkably proud of you."
"Thank you, Arthur," I murmured, my eyes fixed on the empty street. "Is everything ready for Phase Two?"
Mr. Harrison allowed a small, sharp smile to touch his lips. "The forensic accounting team finished their audit of Vance Logistics Canada two hours ago. Julian didn't just abandon his mother, Elena. To fund Chloe's lavish lifestyle over the last eighteen months, he committed massive tax fraud and embezzled over six hundred thousand dollars from the Canadian subsidiary."
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I turned around, looking at the lawyer. "And the Canadian authorities?"
"They were notified at four o'clock this afternoon," Mr. Harrison replied smoothly. "Julian thinks his only problem tonight is sleeping in a cheap motel. By tomorrow morning, he will realize he doesn't even have a career left to go back to."
