Chapter 7 - The Eviction Notice
At 6:45 p.m., Ethan Whitmore unlocked the front door of his apartment, balancing a bag of groceries and his heavy leather briefcase. He kicked the door shut behind him and called out cheerfully, "Babe! I'm home! Sorry I'm late, traffic on the Kennedy Expressway was an absolute nightmare!"
Silence met him. No smell of dinner. No television murmuring in the background.
"Emily?" he frowned, dropping his groceries onto the kitchen island.
He walked down the hallway toward the living room, and his foot suddenly squeaked against bare, polished wood. He stopped dead in his tracks.
The living room was completely empty. The couch, the TV, the rug, the art pieces—gone. He spun around, rushing into the master bedroom. The closet doors stood wide open, revealing barren metal bars. The bed was stripped down to the bare mattress. Even the curtains had been unhooked from the windows.
Panic seized Ethan’s chest with icy claws. He sprinted back to the kitchen island, his eyes locking onto the bright yellow sticky note resting on the granite counter. He snatched it up with shaking fingers.
The note read:
Ethan, Since my apartment apparently now belongs to your mother and your comfort takes precedence over my physical safety, I have decided to relieve you of the burden of my presence. The mortgage, the title, and the lease are exclusively in my name. You are officially trespassing. Consider this your formal thirty-day notice—though given that I am revoking the digital access codes tonight, you have about ten minutes to grab your toothbrush before the locks change permanently. P.S. Tell Rebecca I didn't ruin her pot roast. But I am about to ruin both of your lives. — Emily.
"No, no, no, no!" Ethan screamed into the empty apartment, slamming his fist against the granite counter. He pulled out his phone with trembling hands and dialed Emily’s number.
“The subscriber you have dialed is no longer accepting calls from this number.”
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He dialed his mother’s number instead, his voice cracking with hysteria as soon as she answered. "Mom! She’s gone! Emily stripped the whole apartment bare and locked me out!"
Over the phone, Rebecca’s voice shrieked with outrage. "What do you mean she locked you out?! That’s your home! Call the police! Have her arrested immediately!"
