Chapter 5 - The Contractor Interception
Two days before the reunion, the audacity reached its absolute peak.
Serena was working from her upstairs office when she heard heavy trucks pulling onto the gravel driveway. She peered through the wooden blinds. Two white panel vans with a local construction company logo were parked near the back garden. Men in work boots were unloading sledgehammers and drywall.
Serena hurried downstairs and out the back door.
Beatrice was standing on the patio, wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat, pointing toward the exterior wall of the guest bedroom she occupied.
“Yes, right there,” Beatrice was telling the foreman. “We want to punch through the brick and add a French door leading out to the patio. It will give my suite so much more natural light.”
“Excuse me,” Serena called out, stepping sharply onto the flagstones.
The foreman turned, wiping his brow. “Afternoon, ma’am.”
“What exactly is happening here?” Serena demanded.
Beatrice sighed dramatically. “Serena, don’t interrupt. I’m speaking with the contractors. Lucas and I decided that my room needs private access to the garden. It’s an investment in the property.”
Serena ignored her mother-in-law and looked directly at the foreman. “Who signed the work order for this?”
The foreman pulled a clipboard from his truck. “A Mr. Lucas Miller. Signed the estimate yesterday afternoon. Said to bill the final invoice to him.”
Serena pulled out her phone. “Cancel the work order. Pack up your trucks and leave this property immediately.”
The foreman frowned, looking between the two women. “Ma'am, we have a signed contract.”
“You have a contract signed by a man who does not own this property,” Serena said firmly. “I am the sole owner of this estate. My name is on the deed. If you touch a single brick on that wall, I will sue your company for property damage and trespassing.”
The foreman’s eyes widened. He looked at Beatrice. “Ma'am, you said your son owned the place.”
Beatrice’s face flushed a deep, ugly crimson. “He does! She’s just... she’s his wife. She doesn't understand these things. Ignore her and get to work.”
“No, ma'am, I don't think I will,” the foreman said, immediately signaling to his crew. “We don't mess around with unapproved structural work. Pack it up, boys.”
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As the trucks pulled away, Beatrice turned on Serena, her hands trembling with rage. “How dare you humiliate me in front of those men! When Lucas gets home, you are going to be very, very sorry!”
Serena simply smiled. “I look forward to the conversation, Beatrice.”
