Chapter 6 - The Mansion Keys
The wrought-iron gates of the Bennett family estate loomed ahead of my black SUV.
For ten years, I had driven through these gates feeling like an outsider in my own home.
Victoria had always made sure I knew this was her kingdom.
Today, I was the executioner coming to claim the castle.
I parked directly in front of the grand marble staircase.
My lead attorney, Harrison, pulled up right behind me in a sleek silver sedan.
Two local sheriff's deputies stepped out of his car.
"Are you ready for this, Clara?" Harrison asked.
He adjusted his perfectly tailored suit jacket.
"I have been ready for this since the day I met her," I replied.
We walked up the sweeping stone steps together.
The massive mahogany front doors were wide open.
I could hear the clinking of fine china and high-pitched, fake laughter.
Victoria was hosting her weekly high-society brunch.
She was pretending her world was not currently on fire.
I stepped into the grand foyer and let my heels click loudly against the imported Italian tile.
The chatter in the formal dining room immediately died down.
I walked into the room with Harrison and the two armed deputies right behind me.
Ten of the wealthiest women in the city stared at me in absolute shock.
Victoria was sitting at the head of the long antique table.
She was holding a delicate porcelain teacup in her shaking hand.
"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" she demanded.
She tried to keep her voice steady, but her panic was obvious.
"You are trespassing in my home, Clara!"
I smiled and pulled a folded legal document from my designer bag.
"Actually, Victoria, this is my home."
I dropped the heavily stamped eviction notice right onto her plate of cucumber sandwiches.
"And you have exactly thirty minutes to vacate my property."
The socialites around the table gasped in unison.
A woman in a pink Chanel suit dropped her silver fork clattering onto her plate.
"This is an outrage!" Victoria shrieked.
She stood up so fast that her chair toppled over backward.
"I have lived in this estate for forty years!"
"And you haven't paid the mortgage in ten," I reminded her loudly.
I made sure every single one of her gossiping friends heard me.
"My father bought this house out of foreclosure."
Victoria's face turned a horrifying shade of purple.
"That is a vicious lie!" she spat.
She looked frantically at her wealthy friends.
"She is a deranged, hysterical woman trying to ruin my son!"
Harrison stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"Mrs. Bennett, the deed is entirely in my client's name."
He gestured to the two sheriff's deputies.
"By law, you must leave the premises immediately, or you will be escorted out in handcuffs."
The room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Victoria's friends slowly started standing up.
They were grabbing their expensive designer purses.
They were abandoning a sinking ship.
"Wait, where are you all going?" Victoria pleaded.
"Eleanor, Susan, please stay!"
Eleanor, a woman wearing pearl earrings, avoided Victoria's eyes.
"I think we should let you handle your family business, Victoria," Eleanor whispered.
They practically sprinted out of the front door.
Victoria was left completely alone.
"Thirty minutes, Victoria," I said coldly.
"Take your clothes and leave."
She glared at me with pure, unadulterated hatred.
"You will burn in hell for this, Clara."
May you like
"Maybe," I replied without blinking.
"But at least I won't be broke."
