Chapter 4 - The Tipping Point
The ninety-day deadline arrived on a crisp Monday morning.
I woke up early,
feeling a strange mixture of peace and resolve.
I had instructed the moving company to arrive at the mansion at noon.
I also called a locksmith and a private security firm.
I didn't want a scene,
but I knew Felicia well enough to know that she would go down fighting.
I dressed in a simple,
elegant black suit and the pearls Arthur had given me on our last anniversary.
I looked in the mirror and saw a woman who was no longer a victim,
but the guardian of a legacy.
I drove to my old neighborhood,
the streets looking the same as they always had,
but I felt like a stranger in a familiar land.
As I pulled up to the gate,
I saw the mailman leaving a stack of letters in the box.
On top of the pile was the official eviction notice,
delivered by a court courier just minutes before.
I waited in my car,
watching the front door.
Ten minutes later,
the door flew open,
and Felicia stepped onto the porch,
clutching the legal document in her hand.
She was wearing a bathrobe and no makeup,
her hair a mess of unbrushed tangles.
She looked at the paper,
then at the street,
her eyes searching for someone to blame.
Derek followed her out,
looking defeated,
his shoulders slumped as he read over her shoulder.
I stayed in my car,
hidden behind the tinted glass,
watching them realize that their world had ended.
Felicia began to scream,
the sound muffled by the distance,
as she pointed toward the house and then toward Derek.
She was blaming him,
of course.
She was blaming the man who had let her destroy his family for her own greed.
I watched as Derek walked back inside,
leaving her alone on the porch with the wind blowing the paper in her hand.
The moving trucks pulled into the driveway then,
the large white vehicles blocking her view of the street.
Four men stepped out,
carrying clipboards and wearing professional uniforms.
"Good morning,
Ma'am,"
the lead mover said,
his voice calm and practiced.
"We’re here to assist with the immediate vacation of the premises."
Felicia tried to bar the door,
but the courier,
who was still standing by his car,
pointed to the police cruiser that was turning the corner.
May you like
Justice was no longer a quiet thing;
it had arrived with sirens and flashing lights.
