Chapter 6 - The Escalation & The Mansion Secret
The dock shattered into absolute chaos.
Riley fell back against Brandon, gripping his arm so hard her knuckles turned grey. "Brandon! Tell her she's lying! We live in Emerald Bay! We've lived there for fifteen years! It's our family estate!"
Brandon didn't look at her. He looked at his father, Arthur, whose face had turned dark with cold rage.
"Arthur," Richard stammered, reaching out a shaking hand. "Listen to me! It was just a temporary bridge loan! Avery helped structure a private family trust—"
"Shut your mouth, Richard!" Arthur Sterling bellowed, his voice echoing across the water like a thunderclap.
The entire crowd went completely silent. Arthur Sterling stepped forward, his eyes burning with legal fury.
"You told me your family owned the Emerald Bay estate outright!" Arthur snarled, pointing a finger in Richard's face. "You told me you had a twenty-million-dollar liquid portfolio! My family was about to merge our trust agreements with your daughter through this marriage!"
Arthur turned to look at Brandon. "Brandon. Remove your engagement ring from her finger."
Riley let out a blood-curdling shriek. "NO! Brandon, no! Please! I love you! It doesn't matter who owns the house! We're still rich! Avery will give us the money, she always does!"
"She always does?" I interrupted softly, stepping into Riley's line of sight. "Not anymore, Riley."
I pulled a second document from my Hermès bag—a formal, stamped legal notice bound in blue cardstock.
"What... what is that?" Evelyn whimpered, backing away.
"This," I said, holding the paper up high so the media cameras could catch every single letter, "is a formal notice of corporate card revocation, asset freezing, and a thirty-day notice to quit tenancy for the property located at 404 Emerald Bay Drive."
Evelyn collapsed onto her knees right there on the red carpet, clutching her chest. "You're... you're kicking us out of our house?!"
"It was never your house, Evelyn," I said, my voice utterly devoid of emotion. "It was my house. I bought out Dad's defaulted mortgage to keep you from sleeping in a motel two years ago. I allowed you to live there under the agreement that you treated me like a daughter, not a cash register. You broke that agreement late last night."
"You monster!" Riley screamed, lunging forward to grab my suit lapels.
Before she could touch me, two large, suited security guards who had been standing beside my Rolls-Royce stepped in, effortlessly catching Riley by the arms and holding her back.
"Keep your hands off the client, ma'am," one of the guards warned sternly.
May you like
Riley sobbed hysterically, flailing against the guards' grip. "You ruined my life! You ruined my wedding! I have nothing! I have nothing because of you!"
"No, Riley," I said, stepping right up to her face, looking deep into her wet, terrified eyes. "You have nothing because you spent your entire life believing that my hard work was your birthright. You wanted an elite inner circle? Congratulations. You're on the outside now."
