Chapter 6 - The Iron Gate Closes
Luca stood on the manicured lawn, trembling with a volatile mix of panic and humiliation. Behind him, his mother and sister stumbled out of the taxi, staring at the construction workers in absolute horror.
"Get these men off my lawn!" Luca roared, stepping aggressively toward Phoebe. "I live here! I am Luca Vance! This is my estate!"
Two tall, broad-shouldered security guards in dark suits immediately stepped out from behind the black sedan, placing themselves firmly between Luca and Phoebe.
"Mr. Vance," one of the guards said, his voice deep and menacing. "Take two steps back immediately."
Phoebe picked up her clipboard, adjusting her glasses. "Luca, you no longer reside at 1400 Redwood Crest Drive. As of nine o'clock this morning, the deed was officially transferred to the Vance Foundation. You are currently standing on private commercial property owned by Arthur Vance."
"Arthur Vance?!" Wendy shrieked from behind Luca. "The billionaire?! What does Arthur Vance have to do with my son's house?!"
"It was never your son's house, Mrs. Vance," Phoebe replied, looking Wendy up and down with cold contempt. "It was Jessi Lindon's property. And she sold it for sixty-eight million dollars in cash."
"Sixty-eight million..." Stephanie gasped, her eyes going wide. "Where... where is the money?!"
"In Jessi’s private corporate trust," Phoebe smiled thinly. "Where neither you nor your brother will ever touch a single cent of it."
"This is illegal!" Luca screamed, pointing a shaking finger at the mansion's grand front doors. "My belongings are in that house! My clothes, my watch collection, my office documents! Stephanie's wardrobe! My mother's art!"
Phoebe checked her clipboard again. "According to the emergency legal notification sent to your email yesterday at 11:15 PM, you were granted a forty-eight-hour grace period to clear personal effects. That grace period expires tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM."
"Then let us inside right now!" Luca demanded, trying to push past the security guards toward the front steps. "We are getting our stuff!"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible tonight, Luca," Phoebe said calmly.
"Why the hell not?!"
Phoebe gestured toward the construction crew foreman, who walked over holding a heavy legal clipboard.
"The new property owner, Mr. Arthur Vance, initiated scheduled interior demolition work at five o'clock today," Phoebe explained smoothly. "The interior of the home is currently a commercial construction zone. Hazardous materials, electrical rewiring, and structural framing removal are underway. For liability reasons, no unauthorized non-construction personnel are permitted inside."
Luca stared at her, his mouth open. "Demolition? They're demolishing my master suite?!"
Right on cue, a loud, crashing sound echoed from the second-floor master balcony. Two workers tipped a massive plastic chute, and a pile of broken wood, shattered drywall, and custom Italian marble vanity tiles tumbled into the commercial dumpster below.
Stephanie let out a blood-curdling shriek. "My walk-in closet! That came from my closet!"
"No, no, no!" Luca screamed, charging toward the chute.
The two security guards caught him instantly, pinning his arms behind his back and forcing him down onto his knees in the wet grass.
"Mr. Vance," the lead guard warned sharply into his ear, "if you attempt to breach the perimeter again, we will hold you for local police on charges of felony criminal trespass."
"You destroyed my stuff!" Luca sobbed, tears finally spilling over his cheeks as he knelt in the dirt. "Jessi! Call Jessi! Let me talk to her!"
Phoebe walked over, standing right above him as he knelt in the grass.
"Jessi is currently sitting in a private suite at the St. Julien Hotel in downtown Boulder," Phoebe said softly, her tone dripping with venomous satisfaction. "She is resting comfortably with her daughter. She left a message for you, Luca."
Luca looked up through his tears, his face pale and wet. "What... what message?"
Phoebe pulled a white envelope from her coat pocket and dropped it onto the grass in front of his knees.
May you like
"She said to remind you of what your mother told her three days ago," Phoebe whispered. "'The house is finally in proper hands.'"
Phoebe turned, stepped into her sedan, and signaled the driver. The black car pulled away down the driveway, leaving Luca, Wendy, and Stephanie standing in the dark, surrounded by construction workers and the sound of their past life being smashed to pieces.
