Chapter 5 - The Collapse of the Façade
Derek sat frozen in the driver's seat, the paper fluttering in his trembling fingers.
"This is a mistake," Derek stammered, staring at Arthur Vance. "I... I put money into maintenance! I paid for the landscaping!"
"Which has been offset against your unpaid rent arrears for the past sixty days," Arthur Vance replied smoothly, pulling a second document from his folder. "Furthermore, the credit lines and bank accounts you used to fund your firm, Halston Logistics, were underwritten by personal guarantees signed by Audrey using her trust assets as collateral."
Arthur handed a second document through the window.
"As of 8:00 AM this morning, those personal guarantees have been formally revoked. Your business accounts have been frozen pending a full forensic financial audit."
"You can't do that!" Derek roared, opening the car door and slamming it shut behind him as he stepped out to confront Arthur face-to-face. "My company has payroll on Friday! I have clients!"
The two sheriff's deputies stepped forward immediately, placing their hands calmly on their belts.
"Mr. Halston," the lead deputy said firmly. "Keep your distance and lower your voice. We are here to enforce a lawful court order signed by Judge Miller of the Henrico County Circuit Court."
Savannah stepped out of the car, her high heels clicking loudly against the asphalt. She looked back and forth between Derek, the armed deputies, and the formidable lawyer.
"Derek, what is going on?" Savannah demanded, her voice rising in panic. "Is this house yours or not? Are you rich or not?!"
"Savannah, shut up for a second! Let me handle this!" Derek snapped, turning back to Arthur. "Where is Audrey?! I want to talk to my wife!"
"Mrs. Vance has issued a temporary protective order covering herself and newborn Maisie Vance," Arthur stated calmly. "You are forbidden from coming within 500 feet of her, contacting her electronically, or attempting to locate her current residence. You have precisely two hours to vacate these premises."
"Two hours?!" Derek shrieked. "This mansion has six bedrooms!"
"Two hours," Arthur repeated, checking his gold wristwatch. "At 4:30 PM, the locks on the main gates and all exterior doors will be changed by a commercial locksmith. Any remaining personal property left inside will be cataloged and placed in off-site storage at your expense."
Savannah stared at Derek in utter disgust. "You lied to me. You told me you owned a real estate empire! You told me your wife was a nobody who lived off your money!"
"Savannah, babe, listen to me—" Derek reached out to grab her hand, but she whipped her arm away.
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"Don't touch me!" she yelled. "I am not getting dragged into your fake-rich nightmare!"
She turned on her heel, grabbed her designer bag from the passenger seat, and began walking rapidly down the long driveway toward the main road to call a rideshare, leaving Derek standing alone in the middle of the gravel driveway.
