Chapter 2 - The Locked Doors
The following Tuesday, Daniel’s illusion of control began to visibly fracture.
I was sitting in the library reading a book when my phone buzzed. It was Emma.
“Mom, you won’t believe the voicemails Dad is leaving me,” Emma said, her voice a mix of disbelief and amusement. “He’s furious. Apparently, he tried to buy a condo downtown for Rachel this morning. He put down an offer for two million dollars, but when the escrow company tried to pull the funds from his personal portfolio, the entire transfer bounced.”
“Did it now?” I murmured, turning a page.
“He’s blaming his accountants,” Emma laughed. “He told me that as soon as the ‘banking error’ is fixed, he’s going to cut me out of his will until I apologize to Rachel for the baby shower. Mom, what is going on? He sounds unhinged.”
“Your father is experiencing a reality check,” I told my daughter gently. “Just focus on the baby, Emma. Keep your stress levels low. I have everything completely under control.”
At 4:00 PM, a team of locksmiths arrived at the estate. Under Julia’s strict legal guidance, I had the locks changed on every single door of the property. I also had the security gates reprogrammed, completely erasing Daniel’s biometric access and his passcode. The house legally belonged to my trust, and as of that morning, I had formally served him with an eviction notice via his corporate email—an email I knew he rarely checked unless his assistant printed it out for him.
At 6:30 PM, Daniel’s car pulled up to the wrought-iron security gates. I watched the live feed from my tablet in the kitchen.
Daniel leaned out the window, swiping his keycard against the reader. The light flashed red. Denied. He swiped it again. Denied. He punched in his passcode, stabbing the keypad with increasing frustration. Red light. Denied.
Rachel was sitting in the passenger seat, looking visibly annoyed. Daniel finally pulled out his phone and called the house line. I picked it up on the second ring.
“Claire, the damn gate is broken,” Daniel barked into the receiver. “Open it. We have groceries in the trunk and Rachel wants to use the pool.”
“The gate isn’t broken, Daniel,” I said calmly. “Your access has been revoked.”
There was a long silence on the other end. “What kind of childish game is this? Open the gate right now, or I swear to God, I will ram my car through it.”
“I wouldn’t advise that. It’s federal property of the Bennett Family Trust, and destroying it is a felony,” I replied. “Check your email, Daniel. You were served with a thirty-day eviction notice this morning, but since you abandoned the marital home to live with your mistress, the property manager—which is me—has decided to secure the premises immediately. Your personal belongings have been boxed up and sent to your corporate office.”
“You can’t evict me from my own house!” Daniel roared, his voice echoing through the phone. Rachel’s head snapped toward him, her eyes wide. “I pay the mortgage! I bought that estate!”
“You pay rent to the trust,” I corrected him. “A trust that my father set up, which is solely in my name. You have never owned a single brick of this house. Have a lovely evening, Daniel. Tell Rachel she’ll have to swim elsewhere.”
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I hung up the phone and blocked his number from the house line. On the security camera, I watched Daniel lose his mind. He screamed, kicking his own car door, his face purple with rage. Rachel stepped out of the vehicle, yelling at him, her hands waving wildly. The wealthy, powerful man she thought she was dating was suddenly locked out on the street like a common trespasser.
It was a beautiful thing to witness, but it was only the appetizer. The main course was scheduled for Thursday morning at the Bennett Holdings corporate headquarters.
