Chapter 9 - THE CLEANSED HOUSE
The hours after the brunch were a blur of activity.
I had the locks changed on every Thorne property by sunset.
I had Marcus’s belongings packed into cardboard boxes and left at the curb.
I sat in the nursery of my own home,
the room I had prepared for a child I never had.
It was empty now,
save for the silence.
My financial investigator called with the final report.
“The accounts are secure,
Adeline.”
“We’ve recovered sixty percent of the stolen funds from the shell company.”
“The rest...
well,
they spent it on the lifestyle.”
“That’s fine,”
I said.
“The lesson was worth the price.”
Vanessa called me fifty times that night.
I didn't answer once.
She sent texts,
pleading for mercy,
claiming she was "manipulated" by Marcus.
He made me do it, Addie!
I’m your sister!
I deleted them without reading.
Sisterhood ended the moment she stepped into that nursery with my husband.
Marcus tried to show up at the office the next morning,
but his badge didn't work.
I watched him from my window as security turned him away.
He looked small on the sidewalk,
his expensive suit wrinkled,
shouting at the glass tower that no longer knew his name.
I went back to my desk and signed the final papers for the corporate purge.
I was removing everyone Marcus had hired,
every "freelancer" and "consultant" that had been part of their web.
The firm was lean,
mean,
and entirely mine again.
I received a visit from my lawyer in the afternoon.
“The eviction notice was served to Vanessa,”
he said.
“She’s out by noon tomorrow.”
“And the custody hearing?”
“They don't have a leg to stand on,
Adeline.”
“Marcus is broke,
and Vanessa has no assets.”
“They’re currently staying in a cheap motel on the edge of town.”
I closed my eyes for a moment,
picturing them in a cramped room with a crying baby.
The "smooth life" Marcus had bragged about was gone.
The "care" I provided was a memory.
I felt a strange sense of peace.
It wasn't joy,
exactly.
It was the feeling of a wound finally being cleaned and stitched.
May you like
I was Adeline Thorne.
And the world was back in its proper order.
