Chapter 6 - The Summons to Cedar Hill
Two days later, a formal legal assembly was requested by the executor of the estate. The location chosen for the final settlement meeting wasn't a sterile courtroom or Mr. Sterling's office.
It was the grand foyer of Cedar Hill.
When my black sedan pulled through the iron gates of the estate, the atmosphere was entirely different from the day I was thrown out. The weather was bright and clear, the autumn sunlight glinting off the manicured lawns and the towering white columns of the mansion.
As I stepped out of the car, wearing a sharp, impeccably tailored ivory pantsuit with a matching blazer and silk camisole—looking every bit the corporate executive I had once been before sacrificing my career—I saw them.
My parents and Chloe were standing near the grand front steps. Their faces were pale, drawn, and twisted with shock and fury. Several bank representatives and process servers stood nearby holding thick folders of financial defaults and legal judgments.
My mother looked like she hadn't slept in a week. Her hair was disheveled, and her expensive designer dress looked wrinkled. When she saw me step out of the luxury sedan, flanked by Mr. Sterling carrying his heavy leather briefcase, her jaw dropped.
"You..." my mother whispered, stumbling forward as if she had seen a ghost. "What are you doing here? Get off our property! Security! Throw her out!"
None of the guards moved. They all answered directly to Mr. Sterling’s firm.
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My father rushed forward, his face flushed deep crimson with rage, raising a trembling finger at me. "You think you can pull some cheap stunt with that fake lawyer?! We have the primary will! The court gave us the house! You got your one dollar, you ungrateful wretch! Now get out before I have you arrested for trespassing!"
I didn't flinch. I didn't raise my voice. I simply walked forward, the heels of my designer pumps clicking steadily against the pristine stone pathway, every step echoing with absolute authority.
