Chapter 6 - The Setup
That evening, the house was a war zone.
Lucas had returned home to find his mother in hysterics. She was weeping on the sofa, clutching a handkerchief, claiming Serena had verbally abused her and chased away the workers who were simply trying to "improve the family home."
Lucas stormed into the kitchen where Serena was calmly chopping vegetables.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” he yelled. “Mom is in tears! She was just trying to do something nice for the house!”
“She was trying to knock a hole in my load-bearing brick wall without my permission,” Serena corrected him, not looking up from the cutting board.
“It’s my house too, Serena! I signed the paperwork!”
Serena finally put the knife down. She looked Lucas dead in the eye. “Is it your house, Lucas? Are you sure about that?”
Lucas faltered. The bluster drained out of him, replaced by a sudden, nervous energy. “We’re married. It’s our home. And Mom just wants to feel comfortable. Look, the reunion is on Saturday. Thirty people are coming. Mom is an absolute wreck. I need you to just... go.”
Serena blinked. “Go where?”
“Go to a hotel. Go to your sister’s house. Just leave for the weekend. Let Mom have her party without you hovering over her and ruining everything. I’ll pay for the hotel. Please, Serena. Just give us the house for the weekend.”
It was the most cowardly, pathetic demand she had ever heard. He wasn't defending his wife; he was actively banishing her from her own property so he could maintain the illusion of control for his mother’s extended family.
But it was exactly the opening Serena needed.
“Fine,” Serena said softly.
Lucas let out a massive breath, running his hands over his face. “Thank you. God, thank you. I promise, after this weekend, things will get back to normal.”
“They absolutely will,” Serena agreed.
She packed a small overnight bag on Friday afternoon. She kissed Lucas on the cheek—a cold, mechanical gesture—and drove away as Beatrice triumphantly directed caterers carrying chafing dishes into the foyer.
May you like
Serena didn’t go to a hotel. She went to Evelyn’s office.
She signed the final eviction notice. She signed the paperwork freezing the joint accounts. And she hired a private process server, instructing him to meet her at the Savannah estate at exactly 2:00 PM the following day, right in the middle of the Vance Family Reunion lunch service.
