Chapter 3 - The Eviction Notice
Evelyn backed away, her heels catching on the pew. "Daniel! Do something! I am your mother! You can't let them do this to me!"
Daniel didn't move. Instead, he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a heavy brass ring holding a set of keys and a notarized legal deed.
"The police are here for the fraud, Mother," Daniel said, his voice cold as ice. "But I'm here for the house."
Evelyn frowned, her hands shaking. "What are you talking about? The Mercer Manor belongs to me. It's under my name!"
"It was under the estate's name," Daniel corrected, tossing the keys. They landed with a sharp metallic clink on the floor right at Evelyn's feet. "The estate that you illegally altered. The court signed an emergency injunction this morning based on Claire's findings. The trust has been restored to its original 2018 state. You don't own the manor. You don't own the penthouse. You don't even own the car you drove here in. They all belong to the trust. And as the sole trustee... I'm evicting you."
Evelyn stared at the keys on the floor, then up at her son. The realization hit her like a physical blow. The power she had used as a weapon for decades had vanished in the span of a fifteen-minute wedding ceremony.
"You ungrateful little brat!" she shrieked, lunging toward Daniel.
The two police officers immediately moved forward, grabbing her arms and pulling her back. The silver handcuffs clicked into place over her designer suit jackets.
"Claire! Daniel! You will burn for this! I will ruin both of you!" Evelyn screamed as she was dragged down the aisle. The guests parted like the Red Sea, pulling back their expensive clothes so they wouldn't touch her as she passed.
The heavy doors closed behind her, leaving the chapel in a stunned, breathless silence.
I turned to Daniel. The adrenaline was fading, leaving me exhausted, my hands trembling slightly under the weight of the ruined silk. Daniel looked at me, took the microphone from my hand, and turned to the crowd.
May you like
"The wedding ceremony is officially concluded," Daniel announced to the shocked guests. "But the reception is still on. And we have a lot of stolen money to return to charity."
The crowd broke into hesitant applause, which quickly grew into a standing ovation.
