Chapter 6 - Selina’s Imperial Arrogance Crashes Down
While I prepared my dossier, Selina Miller was busy making the biggest mistake of her life.
Refusing to believe that Gideon Sterling would actually enforce the eviction, Selina had spent Tuesday morning at her exclusive suburban tennis club, loudly gossiping to her social circle about her son’s “troubled marriage.”
“Phoebe has completely lost her mind after the birth,” Selina told her friends over iced mimosas on the club patio. “Postpartum hysteria, you know. She’s locked my son out of their home and brought in some distant relative to intimidate him. But Rowan is too smart for her. We’re filing for sole emergency custody tomorrow.”
Her friends nodded sympathetically, completely oblivious to the reality.
At 11:30 a.m., two marked private security vehicles and a flatbed moving truck pulled up to the country club’s parking lot. Four uniformed officers accompanied by Apex Property Holdings’ chief legal counsel walked straight onto the tennis terrace.
The entire patio went dead silent.
“Mrs. Selina Miller?” the lead attorney asked, stepping forward with a clipboard.
Selina lowered her sunglasses, glaring with indignation. “How dare you interrupt my lunch! Who let you in here? This is a private club!”
“Mrs. Miller, we are executing a court-authorized property seizure,” the attorney announced clearly, his voice echoing across the terrace so every member could hear. “The townhouse leased by your son has been vacated under breach-of-contract terms. Furthermore, under a writ of attachment issued this morning regarding commercial fraud allegations, all unauthorized assets purchased with diverted corporate funds are subject to immediate repossession.”
Two security officers stepped forward. One carried a locked velvet case.
“Please remove the Patek Philippe watch on your left wrist, Mrs. Miller,” the attorney said neutrally. “As well as the diamond tennis bracelet purchased on October 12th from Cartier.”
Selina turned bright crimson. “Are you insane?! These are gifts from my son! Get away from me! Security! Call security!”
The club’s general manager hurried over, but after the attorney handed him a single sheet of paper signed by a federal magistrate with Sterling Enterprises’ corporate seal, the manager immediately stepped back, his face pale.
“Mrs. Miller,” the manager said nervously. “You need to comply with the officers. Immediately.”
“I will not! This is harassment! My son is an executive! We are family with Gideon Sterling!” Selina shrieked, losing every ounce of her manufactured elegance.
“If you claim to be family with Gideon Sterling, ma’am, you should know that Mr. Sterling personally signed the complaint for repossession,” the attorney stated flatly. “If you refuse to surrender the items voluntarily, the local police department waiting at the gate will place you under arrest for possession of stolen property.”
Dozens of club members pulled out their phones, snapping photos and recording videos. The high-society reputation Selina had spent thirty years cultivating was disintegrating in real-time.
Sobbing with fury and humiliation, Selina unclasped the sixty-thousand-dollar watch and threw it at the attorney’s chest. She ripped off the bracelet and threw it onto the table, overturning two glasses of champagne.
“You tell Phoebe she will pay for this!” Selina screamed, tears streaking her heavy makeup. “She is a monster! A vindictive, evil little monster!”
“Mrs. Miller,” the attorney replied, calmly placing the jewelry into evidence bags. “Your country club membership has also been canceled, as the dues were paid through the Miller Capital Consulting account, which was frozen at 8:00 a.m. today. You have ten minutes to leave the premises before you are cited for trespassing.”
May you like
As Selina stumbled toward her car in front of the snickering crowd, her phone buzzed with an urgent notification from Rowan:
Mom! My corporate credit card just declined at the hotel! What is happening?!
