Chapter 7 - Ashes in the Garden
Dawn arrived with a gray, torrential downpour. Elena stood under a wide black umbrella, watching the Sterling family's ancestral heirlooms being loaded onto repo trucks.
Evelyn was led down the stone front steps by two female officers, her fur coat drenched, her hair unkempt, sobbing loudly against the relentless clicking of press cameras. She spotted Elena standing near the gate and tried to lunge forward, only to be held back by the officers.
""You demon!"" Evelyn screamed. ""I took you into my home! I gave you a place at my table! You repaid us with ruin!""
Elena did not raise her voice. She walked toward the weeping matriarch, pausing just inches away. ""You gave me a place at your table so you could drop spoons and command me to crawl. You mistook patience for weakness, Evelyn. Your son thought my love was free collateral.""
Marcus walked out behind his mother, his shoulders slumped, his tailored suit rumpled and stained. He looked at the vast estate that had borne his name for four generations, now reduced to an auction catalog.
""Where do we go?"" Marcus whispered, unable to meet Elena’s eyes.
Elena stepped back, gesturing toward the empty, muddy street beyond the gates. ""You told me the instructions were simple. Get out.""
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As the police car doors closed on Marcus and Evelyn, Elena’s phone vibrated in her palm. The caller ID was private, but the message was instantly decrypted by her security team.
Marcus wasn't the only one stealing. Look into the Vance European account.
