Chapter 5 - The Eviction Notice at Midnight
By late Thursday evening, the Bellevue home that had been a warm sanctuary was dark, the exterior lights switched off by the automated utility management service.
Patricia and Courtney were sitting in the formal living room, their expensive robes rumpled, the teacups on the counter cold and untouched.
The sleek black sedan that Bianca had arrived in was gone, repossessed by the dealership hours earlier after the primary lease payment bounced from Trent's account.
A sharp, aggressive knock at the front door broke the heavy silence of the house at exactly 11:45 p.m.
Patricia threw the door open, her silver hair disheveled, fully expecting to see a local delivery driver with a corporate emergency package.
Instead, she found the county sheriff and two uniform deputies standing under the pouring rain, holding a certified eviction notice stamped by the state housing court.
"Patricia Preston?" the sheriff asked, his voice flat and official. "You have exactly sixty minutes to vacate this property under the terms of a structural foreclosure order."
"This is an outrage!" Courtney shrieked, running down the stairs with her toy poodle clutched to her chest. "My brother is the sole owner of this estate! We have an emergency injunction!"
"The injunction was denied by the district magistrate three hours ago, ma'am," the deputy replied, stepping across the threshold to block the entryway.
"The property taxes, the construction liens, and the structural loans have all been recalled by the Williams Trust LLC."
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Trent walked down the driveway from a local rental vehicle, his expensive suit ruined by the mud, his face a picture of absolute, unadulterated defeat.
He looked at the front steps where he had thrown my suitcase just forty-eight hours earlier, realizing that the muddy mess he had created was now his own home.
