Chapter 5 - The Fall of the Mercer Dynasty
The dominoes fell with terrifying speed.
By 1:00 PM that afternoon, Grant’s corporate email access had been permanently revoked. His company credit cards were frozen. His office in the downtown tower was cleared out by security, his personal belongings tossed into a cardboard box and left at the lobby security desk.
Desperate and humiliated, Grant drove back to the Lincoln Park townhouse like a madman, slamming his sedan into the snow-covered driveway. He practically tore the front door open, bursting into the living room where Marian, Paige, and Vanessa were lounging around, sipping mimosas and discussing interior color palettes for the guest bedroom.
“Grant? What are you doing home so early?” Marian asked, frowning over her teacup. “Did you secure the warehouse expansion contract?”
Grant slammed the front door so hard the framed windows rattled. He walked into the center of the room, his chest heaving, his face red with a mixture of rage, shock, and total despair.
“We’re ruined,” Grant hissed, his voice shaking.
Paige laughed nervously. “Don’t be dramatic, Grant. What happened?”
“Evelyn happened!” Grant roared, slamming his fist against the mantelpiece. “She doesn't work in HR! She owns Sterling & Hart! She owns this house! She owns the mortgage on Mercer Logistics! She just fired me, audited my division, and froze every corporate asset we touch!”
The room went instantly, horrifyingly quiet.
Marian’s teacup slipped from her fingers, shattering against the hardwood floor, dark amber liquid pooling across the rug. Vanessa went completely white, her hands gripping the wheels of her wheelchair as if anchor lines in a storm.
“That’s... that’s impossible!” Marian shrieked, standing up so fast her knees wobbled. “She’s just a nobody from a normal family! She doesn't own a conglomerate!”
“She is the conglomerate, Mom!” Grant shouted, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. “And that’s not the worst of it. The corporate legal team is already filing foreclosure notices on this townhouse because the deed is under my division’s secondary commercial line of credit—which Evelyn just called due immediately!”
Before anyone could process the nightmare, the heavy brass door knocker echoed through the foyer.
Paige cautiously walked to the front door and pulled it open.
May you like
Standing on the porch were two municipal bailiffs accompanied by a Sterling & Hart corporate attorney holding a thick stack of legal documents.
“Notice of immediate eviction and asset seizure,” the attorney announced calmly, stepping past Paige into the foyer. “You have two hours to remove your personal belongings from the premises. The locks are being changed at 3:00 PM.”
