Chapter 4 - The Uninvited Audience
Daniel’s face flushed with sudden anger. "Who the hell is that, Claire? Did you order a delivery driver to the main entrance again?"
"Go check, Daniel," I said calmly, setting down the diaper bag. "It might be someone you know."
Grumbling under his breath, Daniel strode over to the double front doors and ripped them open. "Look, whatever you're selling, we're not—"
He froze. The words died instantly in his throat.
Standing on the covered porch was Rebecca Sloan, wearing a immaculate charcoal-grey suit, holding a sleek black leather briefcase. Beside her stood Mark Vance, the ruthless Senior Director of Internal Audits from Apex Financial Group, dressed in a sharp three-piece navy suit, carrying a heavy encrypted laptop case.
Behind them, parked along the curb, sat a white unmarked courier van.
"Daniel," Mark Vance said, his voice cold as steel, stepping right past my dumbfounded husband into the foyer. "We have a serious corporate matter to discuss regarding unauthorized offshore routing codes and your recent expense reports."
Daniel went completely pale. His skin turned a sickly, ash-grey color within seconds. "M-Mark? What are you doing here? Today is Saturday! This is my personal residence!"
"Actually," Rebecca Sloan interrupted, stepping inside with a razor-sharp smile, her high heels clicking loudly against the marble floor, "it isn't your residence at all, Mr. Miller. It is the exclusive, sole property of my client, Claire Montgomery."
Vanessa came walking out of the living room, holding her baby, her smug expression suddenly crumbling into pure confusion. "Daniel? What is going on? Who are these people?"
"Claire..." Daniel stammered, turning to me, his hands shaking visibly as he tried to construct a lie on the fly. "Claire, what is this? Why is Mark here? What did you tell them?"
I slowly walked over to the grand kitchen island and picked up a thick white binder that had been resting discreetly behind a vase of fresh lilies. I opened it to the first page and laid it flat under the bright lights.
"I didn't tell them anything they didn't already know, Daniel," I said softly, my voice carrying total authority through the vast house. "I just provided the missing bank keys."
Rebecca opened her briefcase and pulled out a stack of legally sealed documents, laying them next to my binder.
"Mr. Miller," Rebecca announced, her voice echoing off the high ceilings. "As of 11:30 AM this morning, an emergency injunction was filed with the Fulton County Superior Court. You are officially served with a Notice of Immediate Eviction, a Petition for Absolute Divorce on the grounds of fraud and grand larceny, and a temporary freezing order on all accounts associated with your name."
Vanessa gasped, pulling her baby closer. "Eviction?! Daniel, you said you owned this mansion! You said this was your estate!"
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Daniel looked like he had been struck by lightning. "Claire! Stop this insanity right now! You're making a scene in front of guests! We can talk about this privately!"
"There's nothing left to talk about privately, Daniel," I replied, looking him dead in the eye. "Because Mark has a few questions about the $67,842 you stole from our joint holdings—and the $450,000 you embezzled from Apex Financial to cover Vanessa’s fake consulting firm."
