Chapter 6 - Eviction Notice on the Family Estate
By Sunday afternoon, the Sterling family was holed up inside the grand manor, nursing bruised egos and exploding with fury. They had spent the entire previous day stranded at JFK before taking an embarrassing, expensive yellow cab back to the estate, having to pay the driver in wrinkled cash Eleanor had hidden in her purse.
Richard paced across the Persian rug in the study, a glass of cheap whiskey in his hand. “He’s testing us! Arthur thinks he can bully us because he made a few million in shipping. He will break by tomorrow. He always comes crawling back to apologize!”
“He ruined my social media launch!” Vanessa wailed from the sofa, staring at her phone screen. “All my friends think I’m in Capri right now! I had to post old archived photos from two years ago just to save face!”
“The disrespect is unbearable,” Eleanor snapped, fanning herself with a magazine. “After everything we sacrificed to raise him! I will go to his office tomorrow morning and demand he hand over his financial accounts to Richard. A real son respects his elders!”
Suddenly, the front doorbell chimed through the grand foyer.
“That must be Arthur coming to beg for forgiveness,” Richard sneered, putting down his glass. “Let him stand outside for ten minutes to teach him a lesson.”
When the bell rang three more times with relentless authority, Richard marched to the front entrance and yanked the heavy door open, preparing to unleash a lecture.
Standing on the front steps was not Arthur.
It was two process servers wearing dark suits, flanked by a uniformed county sheriff’s deputy.
“Richard Sterling?” the lead process server asked, checking a legal clipboard.
“Yes, I am Richard Sterling. What is the meaning of this interruption?”
The server handed Richard a thick, sealed legal packet. “You, Eleanor Sterling, and Vanessa Sterling are hereby formally served with a 30-Day Notice to Vacate and Terminate Tenancy for the real property located at 144 Meadowbrook Lane, issued by the legal property owner, Aegis Holdings LLC.”
Richard’s eyes bulged. “What?! This is my house! I built this family name!”
The sheriff’s deputy stepped forward, resting his hand calmly on his duty belt. “Sir, county land records confirm Aegis Holdings LLC is the sole deed holder. You have thirty calendar days from today to vacate the premises with your personal belongings. If you fail to surrender the keys by October 31st at 5:00 PM, a court-ordered eviction warrant will be executed, and all remaining items will be removed to the street.”
Eleanor, who had walked into the foyer, heard the deputy’s words and let out a bloodcurdling shriek.
“Evicted?! Arthur is evicting his own mother?!” Eleanor screamed, clutching her chest and collapsing dramatically against the staircase banister. “You can’t do this! This is illegal! I am Eleanor Sterling!”
“Ma’am, argue it in county housing court if you wish,” the deputy said impassively. “Have a good afternoon.”
The officers turned and walked down the driveway, leaving the legal notice sitting in Richard’s trembling hands.
As Richard stared at the document, his eyes fell upon the final clause on page four, signed personally by Arthur Sterling:
“All utility subsidies, private landscaping contracts, domestic maid services, and estate maintenance accounts funded by the property owner will terminate in 48 hours. Occupants are responsible for all ongoing utility payments during the statutory notice period.”
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Vanessa ran into the hallway, her face pale with terror. “Dad... what does that mean? Are we losing the house?”
Richard looked at the paper, then out at the manicured five-acre lawn he hadn't spent a single penny to maintain in ten years. For the first time in his life, cold, unadulterated dread settled into the pit of his stomach.
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