Chapter 6 - Eviction of the Tyrant
Margaret scrambled to her feet, desperate to salvage some shred of authority. "This is a trap! She kept them hidden to blackmail us! Ethan, she wants to destroy our legacy! Those children belong to the Walker family, and I will take them through the courts! You hear me, Claire? I have the best lawyers in the state! I will take your children away from you!"
Claire didn't even flinch. She simply turned her head toward Daniel Ross, who adjusted his spectacles and pulled out a fresh stack of legal documents from his briefcase.
"Mrs. Walker," Daniel said, his voice flat, professional, and merciless. "You have no legal standing to threaten anyone. As of thirty minutes ago, Northline Capital has formally declared Walker Hall in full default. You have failed to service the primary mortgage, the secondary mezzanine debt, and the unpaid property taxes totaling over eight million dollars."
Margaret’s breath caught in her throat. "What are you talking about? The Sterling family was going to cover that loan after the wedding!"
"The Sterling family just drove through your front gates and told the press on their way out that they have severed all ties with you," Daniel replied coldly. "Furthermore, my team has uncovered extensive evidence of fraudulent asset transfers and forged signatures on the Walker estate trust—specifically, forging Ethan’s signature on secondary mortgages to fund your lifestyle."
Ethan looked up, his expression hardening into cold steel. "You forged my name, Mother? To pay for your country clubs and charity galas?"
"I did it for the family!" Margaret wailed.
"You did it for yourself," Claire cut in, stepping forward. "And now, your debt has been purchased in full by Northline Freight Systems. Walker Hall belongs to me. Which means, Margaret... you have until five o'clock this evening to pack your personal belongings and vacate my premises."
"You can't evict me from my ancestral home!" Margaret screamed, her voice echoing off the limestone walls of the mansion. "My family has lived here for four generations!"
"Then you should have treated people with basic human decency," Claire said with lethal calm. "A sheriff’s deputy is currently waiting at the main gate to supervise your departure. If you are still on the property at five-o-one, you will be arrested for criminal trespassing."
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Margaret looked around frantically for help, but there was no one left. The staff had retreated inside, the caterers were quietly packing their trucks, and the high-society friends she had spent her life trying to impress were already leaking the entire scandal to the New York tabloids.
Broken, humiliated, and stripped of every illusion of power, Margaret Walker turned and stumbled toward the mansion, weeping hysterically into the hem of her designer dress.
