Chapter 3 - The Corporate Threat
The severe woman in the white suit didn't even bother to step out of her massive vehicle.
She just stared coldly at my son, who was still kneeling pathetically on the concrete driveway.
"Who exactly are you?" the lead police officer demanded, aggressively resting his hand on his holstered weapon.
"My name is Victoria Vance," she answered smoothly, entirely unbothered by the armed police.
"I am the CEO of Vanguard Developments, and I officially own the massive commercial lot directly behind this pathetic little neighborhood."
Mr. Harris stepped forward, his sharp legal mind instantly connecting the massive dots.
"You are trying to aggressively buy up this entire residential block to build your massive new shopping complex," he deduced.
Victoria smiled, a cold, utterly terrifying expression that completely chilled the air.
"Rachel Adams' property is the absolute final holdout blocking my massive development project."
She looked directly at me, her eyes completely devoid of any human empathy.
"I offered your son two million dollars in cash to successfully acquire the deed today."
I stared at Daniel in absolute, paralyzing disbelief.
He hadn't just tried to aggressively steal my home to live in it; he had entirely sold me out to a massive, ruthless corporation.
"You were going to let them bulldoze the house where you grew up?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
Daniel sobbed openly, burying his face completely in his trembling hands.
"I owed dangerous people a lot of money, Mom, I didn't actually have a choice," he cried pathetically.
Victoria rolled her window up slightly, completely bored by the emotional family drama.
"The deal is officially entirely off the table, Daniel," she stated coldly through the cracked glass.
"And you currently owe me fifty thousand dollars for the massive retainer I advanced your pathetic wife."
She aggressively slammed the SUV into reverse and sped entirely out of the neighborhood.
The police officers quickly hauled a violently screaming Lauren and a completely broken Daniel into the back of their cruisers.
Lauren’s parents aggressively jumped into their cars and completely sped away, cowardly abandoning their daughter.
I stood completely alone in my driveway, holding my precious wedding portrait tightly to my chest.
Mr. Harris gently placed a comforting hand entirely on my trembling shoulder.
"You absolutely did the right thing today, Rachel," he said softly.
"I just sent my only son entirely to jail," I whispered, tears finally breaking through my rigid composure.
"You didn't send him there, his own massive greed did," Mr. Harris corrected firmly.
We walked slowly into my house, the heavy silence feeling incredibly suffocating after the massive chaos outside.
I spent the next three hours entirely changing every single lock on the heavy wooden doors.
Mr. Harris stayed until the evening, officially drafting emergency restraining orders against Daniel and Lauren.
When he finally left, I sat completely alone at the large kitchen table, entirely exhausted.
The house finally felt like it truly belonged to me again, but it also felt entirely empty.
I walked slowly upstairs to my bedroom, completely ready to sleep for three solid days.
I opened my bedroom door and immediately froze entirely in my tracks.
The heavy window was completely wide open, the cold night breeze aggressively blowing the sheer curtains.
May you like
Standing perfectly still in the dark corner of my bedroom was a tall, heavily scarred man wearing a dark tactical jacket.
"You really shouldn't have stopped the sale today, Rachel," the man whispered aggressively.
