Chapter 4 - The Boxing Day Blitz
At 3:45 PM on December 26th, the temperature in Oak Brook plummeted to fourteen degrees. Inside the three-story colonial mansion, David was nursing a massive hangover while Chloe was admiring the designer clothes she had purchased with the card I had canceled the previous night.
I knew this because Lucas had received a furious group text from his mother twenty minutes earlier, demanding to know where he had disappeared to and ordering him to bring his car around so she could return her purchases before the boutiques closed.
Arthur and I sat parked in the back of Arthur’s black Mercedes SUV two hundred yards down the winding, tree-lined street from the mansion. In front of us sat an unmarked DuPage County Sheriff cruiser and a private security van from Vanguard Executive Protection.
""You don't have to watch this, Barbara,"" Arthur said softly, his hands resting on the steering wheel.
""Yes, I do,"" I replied. ""I spent twenty years smoothing over David’s mistakes. I shielded him when he failed his college exams; I bailed him out when his first retail venture collapsed; I swallowed my pride when Chloe sneered at my clothes. Watching him face the consequences of his arrogance isn't cruelty, Arthur. It’s the only real parenting I have left to give him.""
At precisely four o'clock, two uniformed deputies stepped out of the cruiser and walked up the snow-swept front walk, accompanied by a process server carrying a thick manila legal envelope.
Through the large bay windows of the foyer, I watched the scene unfold.
The front door opened. David appeared, wearing an expensive cashmere lounge sweater and holding a coffee mug. When he saw the uniforms, his shoulders stiffened. The deputies spoke briefly, their voices lost to the wind, before the process server stepped forward and slapped the manila folder squarely against David's chest.
David stumbled backward. Chloe appeared behind him, her face twisting in fury. Even from two hundred yards away, I could see her gesticulating wildly, screaming at the deputies, pointing toward the ceiling as if invoking the authority of her high-society connections.
One of the deputies held up a hand, stepped into the foyer threshold, and pointed firmly to the legal documents. He pulled out a yellow warning card, making it abundantly clear that any interference would result in immediate arrest for obstructing court officers.
Within three minutes, the front door slammed shut.
Arthur’s phone chirped with an incoming confirmation from the process server.
""Service completed,"" Arthur read aloud, a grim satisfaction in his voice. ""Notice to Quit served personally to David Thomas Vance and Chloe Renee Vance. The court injunction freezing all unauthorized trust instruments has been registered. They have thirty days to vacate the premises entirely. Every fixture, appliance, and original furnishing purchased by the trust remains trust property under inventory audit.""
Ten seconds later, my personal cell phone began ringing frantically.
David Vance Calling.
I let it ring until it rolled over to voicemail.
Immediately, Chloe’s number flashed on the screen.
I hit the speaker button.
""BARBARA!"" Chloe’s voice shrieked so loudly that Arthur flinched behind the wheel. ""Are you out of your psychotic mind?! The sheriff just handed us an eviction notice! There are security guards standing at the end of our driveway! Do you have any idea what you've done?! David’s partners are coming back over on New Year’s Eve for an investor summit!""
I kept my voice smooth, calm, and utterly devoid of warmth. ""Good afternoon, Chloe. I believe you informed me yesterday that the main table is reserved strictly for successful people. Since David’s venture is insolvent and you cannot even pay for your own catering without my auxiliary credit card, you no longer meet the criteria to occupy my estate.""
""You can't do this to us!"" Chloe screamed, hyperventilating. ""We have children! We have a social standing! David is your son!""
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""David is a forty-two-year-old man who committed felony forgery to steal his late father’s estate,"" I said, each word landing like an anvil. ""And you, Chloe, are a guest who forgot whose bread you were eating. You wanted fifty thousand dollars for a chair at Christmas dinner. My eviction notice was delivered for free. You have thirty days to pack your personal belongings. If a single painting, antique, or chandelier is removed from that house, I will have the state attorney press criminal grand larceny charges before the sun sets.""
I hung up the phone and turned it completely off.
