Chapter 7 - The Eviction from the KingdomBy Thursday morning, the grand, high-ceilinged estate that Daniel and I had shared for five years was completely silent.
The expensive furniture, bought with my father’s money, was being packed into large cardboard boxes by a team of professional movers. Daniel’s collection of luxury watches, his European sports cars, and his tailored suits had already been seized by the federal marshals as assets acquired through financial fraud.
I stood in the center of the grand living room, my dark blue blazer sharp against the cream walls, watching a worker lower a large portrait of Daniel from above the fireplace.
The front door opened, and Judith Mercer, Daniel’s mother, walked in, flanked by a cheap private security guard. She had always been a haughty, passive-aggressive woman who treated me like a lower-class interloper in her son’s life. Now, she looked small, rumpled, and completely panicked.
"Sarah!" Judith cried, rushing toward me, her hands open. "Thank goodness you're still here. The bank just served me with an eviction notice for my townhouse. They say Daniel used my property as secondary collateral for his business loans. You have to stop them! I have nowhere to go!"
"Your son used your house because he was desperate to cover the eighty thousand dollars he stole to buy Vanessa’s penthouse, Judith," I said, my voice completely calm as I turned to look at her. "He lied to you, just like he lied to me."
"But I’m his mother! I didn't know anything about the insurance policies or the car crash!" she wept, reaching out to grab my arm.
I took a deliberate step back, letting her hand fall empty into the air. "When Daniel stood at my daughters' funeral and told me that God took my babies because of what kind of mother I was, you stood right behind him, Judith. You didn't say a word to stop him. You smiled when he smashed my head against Lily’s coffin."
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Judith’s face turned a sickly shade of white. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"The sheriff will be here at noon to supervise your departure from this property," I said, turning my back on her to look out the window at the gray Seattle rain. "And as for your townhouse, I bought the debt from the bank yesterday morning. I am your new landlord, Judith. And your lease is officially terminated. Enjoy the street."
