Chapter 3 - The Cold Reality of the Dark
By the next morning, the Arizona sun was merciless.
The temperature outside was already climbing toward forty degrees.
Inside the mansion, the air was crisp.
I sat on the terrace with my mother, drinking fresh orange juice.
Her knees were wrapped in cooling bandages, and she was smiling at Donovan.
He was splashing in the infinity pool, oblivious to the war.
Suddenly, the intercom buzzed.
"Ms. Vance, Mr. Laine is at the gate. He’s... persistent."
"Show him the screen," I said.
I pulled up the gate camera on my phone.
Caden looked terrible.
His hair was greasy, his shirt was wrinkled, and his face was red from the heat.
He had spent the night in a house with no water and no air.
He looked like a man who had finally realized the gravity of his situation.
"Taylor!" he shouted into the speaker. "Taylor, open this gate!"
"My mother is dehydrated! She’s an old woman, Taylor! This is abuse!"
I pressed the button to speak.
"Abuse, Caden?"
"Abuse is making a sick woman with arthritis carry a four-year-old on her back."
"Abuse is watching her sweat in a kitchen while you drink beer in the cold."
"Abuse is stealing millions from the wife who pays for your life."
Caden went silent.
He looked at the camera lens, his eyes flickering with panic.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he stammered.
"The accounts... the car... Elena," I said.
He staggered back as if I had struck him.
"I have everything, Caden. The photos. The bank statements. The hotel receipts."
"I have been three hours early for three years."
"I just waited until today to tell you."
From behind him, Bonnie appeared.
She looked like a withered leaf.
Her designer dress was stained with sweat, and her makeup was running.
"You're a monster, Taylor!" she shrieked.
"A woman's place is to support her husband! You're breaking a holy vow!"
I laughed, and the sound echoed through the high-end speakers at the gate.
"A holy vow doesn't include a maid's uniform for my mother, Bonnie."
"By the way," I added. "Check the front door of your house."
They both turned around.
A man in a suit was standing on their porch, holding a stack of papers.
It was my server.
"That is an eviction notice," I said.
"The holding company that owns that house is terminating your lease."
"You have two hours to pack your clothes."
"Everything else—the furniture, the electronics, the cars—remains."
"They were purchased with company funds."
Caden fell to his knees on the asphalt.
"Taylor, please. We have nowhere to go."
"You have the apartment you bought for Elena," I suggested.
"Oh, wait. I seized that this morning."
"Maybe Bonnie’s 'Great Escape' fund can help you."
"Except I’ve flagged those accounts for forensic audit."
I leaned closer to the microphone.
"You wanted the lifestyle of a king, Caden."
"But you forgot that the queen was the one who built the throne."
"Two hours. Or the sheriff removes you in front of the neighbors."
I cut the feed.
I looked at my mother.
She was staring at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of pride and sadness.
"I never wanted this for you, Taylor," she said.
"I wanted you to have a husband who loved you."
"I have something better, Mom," I said.
"I have the power to make sure you never hurt again."
I stood up and walked toward the pool.
The desert heat was shimmering in the distance.
May you like
But for the first time in six years, I felt perfectly cool.
***
