Chapter 5 - Taking Back The Castle
At 2:00 PM, two squad cars from the township police department pulled up in front of the Highland Ridge Condominiums. I sat in the passenger seat of Tamara’s SUV, watching the familiar red-brick exterior of the building I had spent six years paying for.
A locksmith van pulled in behind us.
Officer Miller, a veteran cop who recognized my military veteran plates, walked up to my window and tipped his cap. “Afternoon, Officer Sutton. We’ve reviewed the court order signed by Judge Harrison. We’re ready when you are.”
“Thank you, Officer,” I said, easing myself out of the vehicle and securing my cane.
We took the elevator up to the third floor. Seeing the familiar hallway runner and the familiar light fixture outside Unit 304 made my throat tight. But when I reached my front door, my heart hardened. The electronic smart lock I had personally programmed had been ripped out and replaced with a cheap brass deadbolt.
A typed note was taped to the wood: PROPERTY OF MADDOX HOLDINGS LLC. ALL TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED.
“Officer,” I said, gesturing to the note.
Officer Miller ripped the paper down, crumpled it, and shoved it into his pocket. “Cut it open,” he ordered the locksmith.
The drill screamed against the brass cylinder. Within two minutes, the deadbolt snapped, and the door swung open.
The interior was a disaster of half-packed boxes and careless disregard. My Persian rug had muddy boot prints across the weave. My framed Army commendation medals had been taken down from the wall and tossed carelessly into an open cardboard box marked GARBAGE.
In the center of the kitchen island sat three empty beer bottles and an open ledger belonging to Maddox Holdings. Roy had already been using my sanctuary as a staging ground for his construction paperwork.
“Check your closet, Marin,” Tamara urged quietly.
I shuffled into the master bedroom. The closet door had been pried open with a crowbar. But there, shoved behind a row of winter coats they hadn't bothered to haul away, sat my heavy fireproof lockbox.
My hands shook as I spun the mechanical combination dial. Left 24, Right 12, Left 08.
The heavy steel latch clicked open.
Inside lay my pristine, original deployment binder. And tucked inside the front sleeve was my copy of the signed Revocation of Power of Attorney, complete with my father’s handwritten initials acknowledging receipt, dated two days before my surgery.
Next to it lay the deed to the burial plots my grandmother had left me, and my emergency cash reserve. They hadn’t managed to crack the safe before the court order came down.
“We have the original signed receipt,” I announced to Officer Miller, holding up the paper. “My father signed his initials acknowledging the revocation right here at his kitchen table.”
Miller whistled softly. “That’s premeditated fraud. Detective Reynolds from financial crimes is going to want to see this immediately.”
As the locksmith worked on installing reinforced, high-security deadbolts on the front door, the hallway elevator chimed.
Heavy, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Roy Maddox rounded the corner, dressed in a tailored suit, his face flushed with rage. Two private security guards flanked him.
“What the hell is going on here?!” Roy shouted, storming toward the doorway. “This is private property! Officers, arrest these people! I own this condo!”
Officer Miller stepped forward, his hand resting comfortably on his duty belt. “Step back, Mr. Maddox. Do not cross the threshold.”
“I bought this place in a cash closing!” Roy barked, waving a piece of paper. “I have a recorded deed!”
“You have a fraudulent deed under active criminal investigation, Roy,” I said, stepping into the doorway where he could see me clearly. I wasn’t in a hospital gown anymore. I was wearing my dark tactical jacket, standing tall on my cane, looking him dead in the eyes.
“Marin,” Roy hissed, his arrogance slipping for a fraction of a second. “You don’t know what you’re meddling in. Your father owed me. If you blow this up, your family goes under. You think you’re being brave? You’re bankrupting your parents!”
“My parents bankrupted themselves the day they decided their daughter’s spine surgery was a convenient distraction for grand larceny,” I replied. “This property is under a court-ordered freeze, and the locks have been changed. If you or any of your goons set foot on this floor again, you will be arrested for felony burglary.”
Officer Miller stepped into Roy’s personal space. “You heard the lady. Back down the hall, Mr. Maddox. Right now.”
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Roy glared at me, his jaw working furiously. “This isn’t over, Marin. Brooke’s wedding is in one week. The whole town knows Gerald Sutton’s daughters. You’re going to be the villain who ruined her sister’s life, and I’m going to take every dime your father has left.”
“Tell it to the grand jury, Roy,” I said, and closed my own front door in his face.
