Chapter 1 - The Red Folder
The heavy mahogany doors swung inward, silencing the remaining whispers in the grand foyer.
Mr. Sterling, our family attorney, stood on the threshold with a sealed red folder in his hands.
Two large paramedics rushed past him, carrying a medical bag and a collapsible stretcher.
Julian dropped his hand from my face, his arrogant expression faltering for the first time.
My father stepped into the house behind the paramedics, his eyes immediately locking onto my bleeding lip.
He did not shout, nor did he rush to attack my husband.
Instead, he gestured for the medics to take Lily from my arms.
They quickly wrapped my burning daughter in a thermal shock blanket and hurried her out the door.
I followed them, but Julian lunged forward to grab my wrist.
Mr. Sterling smoothly stepped between us, pressing the red folder directly into Julian’s chest.
Julian stared at the document, his face turning a sickening shade of pale as he read the cover letter.
It was a formal declaration of immediate eviction, legally authorized by the Mercer Family Trust.
Agnes gasped, dropping her crystal champagne flute onto the marble floor.
She demanded to know how a penniless orphan could possibly own the estate they had lived in for years.
Mr. Sterling calmly informed her that my late mother had placed the deed in a blind trust to protect me from gold-diggers.
The investors in the ballroom began to whisper, realizing Julian was not the wealthy titan he claimed to be.
Julian looked at his uncle, but the older man simply turned his back and walked out of the house.
I wiped the last drop of blood from my chin and turned to walk out the front door.
Julian let out a dark, menacing laugh that echoed off the high ceilings.
He pulled a small digital security token from his tuxedo pocket and smiled.
May you like
He told me I could have the empty house, because he had just wired the eight million dollar loan to an untraceable offshore account.
Then he pressed a button on the token, and the massive steel security gates of the estate slammed shut, locking the ambulance inside.
