Chapter 4 - The Eviction
Three days after the gala, the gates of the Cross estate were blocked by three moving vans and a team of private security guards.
Evelyn Cross stood on the grand marble staircase, screaming at the moving crew who were carefully packing up the antique paintings and sculptures.
"Stop this immediately!" she shrieked, her voice hoarse. "This is my house! My grandfather commissioned this staircase! You have no right to touch my belongings!"
"Actually, Mrs. Cross, we do," a calm, familiar voice echoed from the foyer.
Evelyn froze. Isabella walked into the house, accompanied by Logan, her lead corporate security officer, and two legal representatives.
"Isabella," Evelyn gasped, trying to regain her regal composure, though her trembling hands betrayed her. "You... you cannot do this. You were my daughter-in-law! Have you no decency?"
"Decency, Evelyn?" Isabella asked, pausing at the bottom of the staircase—the very spot where Evelyn had publicly humiliated her just days prior. "Did you think of decency when you told your friends I lacked 'breeding'? Did you think of decency when you signed off on Vanessa’s plan to frame me for stealing your grandmother’s necklace?"
Evelyn’s face turned white. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
Isabella nodded to Logan, who opened a tablet, playing a crisp video of the estate's security feed. It showed Vanessa hiding the necklace in Isabella's clutch, while Evelyn stood by, smiling approvingly.
"The police have already issued warrants for Vanessa’s arrest for insurance fraud and conspiracy," Isabella said softly. "As for you, Evelyn, the lease on this land has expired. The house, the structure, and everything attached to it now belong to Montrose Development. You have two hours to pack your personal clothing. Everything else stays."
Just then, Damian arrived, looking disheveled and exhausted. His tie was loose, his suit wrinkled. Seeing Isabella, he fell to his knees at her feet.
"Isabella, please," he begged, tears streaming down his face. "I was blind. I was foolish. I let my mother and Vanessa poison my mind. I still love you. We can start over. Please, just withdraw the liquidation lawsuit."
Isabella looked down at him. For years, she had hoped to see a spark of the man she had originally married—the ambitious, kind man he had pretended to be before wealth and his mother's vanity consumed him. But looking at him now, she felt only pity.
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"You don't love me, Damian," she said gently. "You love the safety I provided. You love the money. Rise up. Don't humiliate yourself any further."
She turned and walked out of the house, leaving the Cross family to face the cold reality of the empire they had destroyed with their own arrogance.
