Chapter 4 - The Tables Turn
By afternoon, the grand foyer of Thorne Manor was filled with the harsh sounds of reality checking in.
Federal movers, hired under my direct supervision, carried out Sarah’s expensive designer clothes, her imported Italian leather furniture, and her endless crates of vintage wine, stacking them neatly onto the gravel driveway outside the front gates.
Neighbors from surrounding estates slowed their luxury cars down on the public road, staring in absolute shock as the queen of local high society was humiliatingly evicted from her own castle in broad daylight.
Sarah stood near the edge of the fountain, clutching a single designer handbag to her chest like a lifeline, sobbing loudly as her precious belongings were tossed into temporary storage pods.
"You're a monster, Elias!" she screamed, her voice echoing across the empty lawns. "You're ruining me! How could you throw your own blood out onto the street over a brat who doesn't even matter?"
That single sentence sealed her fate.
I stopped walking toward my waiting car, turned around slowly, and looked at her with a gaze so devoid of warmth that she instinctively stepped back.
"She matters more to me than every brick, every painting, and every drop of wine on this entire estate combined," I said quietly, each word hitting like a hammer. "And as for being my blood? You stopped acting like family the moment you treated a helpless little girl like an animal."
I turned my back on her, got into the black SUV idling by the driveway, and rolled down the window.
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"You have twenty-four hours to clear your remaining personal items off the property, Sarah," I stated flatly. "After that, the locks change permanently."
The driver shifted into gear, and we rolled smoothly down the long gravel driveway, leaving Sarah standing alone in the middle of her former empire, weeping uncontrollably in front of a house that no longer belonged to her.
