Chapter 6 - The Siege of Park Slope
Z
While Mark was spilling his guts to the District Attorney at Riker's Island, I arrived at the Park Slope brownstone with Julian, a team of three uniformed sheriff's deputies, and a crew of commercial locksmiths.
The rain had stopped, replaced by a biting, sub-zero wind that howled down the tree-lined Brooklyn street. Outside the house, two large moving vans were parked at the curb. My private security detail had already secured the perimeter.
I walked up the classic stone steps and unlocked the front door using my master key.
Inside, the house was a disaster zone. Vintage clothing was scattered across the foyer, expensive designer bags were packed into half-zipped suitcases, and empty wine bottles littered the dining table. Eleanor was sitting on the velvet sofa, clutching a cup of tea, while Chloe was frantically shouting into her phone in the hallway.
"I don't care what the bank said! Wire the funds now!" Chloe yelled into her receiver, turning around just as we walked in. She froze, dropping her phone onto the hardwood floor.
"David?" Eleanor gasped, rising from the sofa, her face twisting into a mixture of fear and fury. "What is the meaning of this? Why are there police officers outside my home?!"
"It's not your home anymore, Eleanor," I said calmly, pulling the official court order from my coat pocket. "This property is held under the 'David Miller Family Trust'. As the sole trustee, I have executed an emergency order of eviction based on non-payment of rent, structural property damage, and unlawful criminal activity conducted on the premises."
"You can't evict us!" Chloe screamed, rushing forward, her nails painted a fiery red, her face contorted with malice. "Mom has lived here for thirty years! This is our family home! You're an evil, heartless monster! You put my husband in jail!"
"Your 'husband' just signed a sworn confession, Chloe," I said, looking her dead in the eye. "He gave the DA every text message, every bank statement, and every wire transfer log detailing how you, Ethan Vance, and Eleanor spent the last two years embezzling funds and hiding Ethan's bastard child."
Chloe stopped dead in her tracks. Her face went completely white, all the air rushing out of her lungs in a sharp gasp. "He... he signed?"
"Mark knows about Swiss clinic, Chloe," I continued, stepping closer to her. "He knows Ethan is packing his bags for Dubai right now. And he knows you were planning to leave him behind to rot in prison."
"No... no, Ethan wouldn't leave me!" Chloe stuttered, backing away, her hands flying to her mouth. "We had a plan! Ethan loves me!"
"Ethan Vance doesn't love anyone," Julian interjected, stepping forward with two deputies. "And right now, Federal Marshals and the NYPD are currently entering Ethan's penthouse in Jersey City. His flight to Dubai was scheduled for 4:00 PM. He was arrested twenty minutes ago at Newark Airport while attempting to board with four million dollars in unregistered cold-storage cryptocurrency wallets."
Chloe sank to her knees right there in the hallway, letting out a horrific, guttural sob of pure defeat.
Eleanor stood frozen beside the sofa, her eyes wide with shock, clutching her pearls with trembling fingers. "David... please... you can't do this to your sister. She was manipulated by Ethan! She's innocent!"
"Innocent?" I laughed—a cold, bitter sound that echoed off the high ceilings. "She stole my wife's food. She laughed while Maya bled. You both treated Maya like a servant, used my hard-earned money to live like royalty, and helped a criminal fleece my business."
I turned to the sheriff's deputy. "Deputy, please enforce the order. They have fifteen minutes to take their personal clothing. Everything else—the furniture, the art, the jewelry purchased with stolen funds—is seized under a court freeze."
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"You can't leave us on the street in winter!" Eleanor shrieked, her voice cracking as a deputy stepped between her and the furniture. "Where are we supposed to go?!"
"You can go to the same place you left my wife and newborn son," I said, turning my back on them and walking toward the door. "Make do with whatever you can find."
