Chapter 7: Evelyn’s Desperation**
Stripped of her corporate titles and facing a frozen bank account, Evelyn Williams retreated to the Williams Manor in an upscale gated community. The vast thirty-room estate felt like a cavernous tomb. The household staff, having heard news of her pending eviction and federal indictments, had already resigned en masse.
Alone in the grand drawing room, Evelyn poured herself a tumbler of expensive bourbon with trembling hands. She dialed the private number of Judge Harold Vance—Arthur’s estranged brother—hoping to leverage old social favors to dismiss the federal warrants.
"Harold, it’s Evelyn," she pleaded into the receiver. "You owe my late husband a favor. You must issue an injunction against Marcus Cole’s warrant."
"Evelyn, are you completely out of your mind?" Harold’s blunt voice answered over the line. "The federal prosecutors have unsealed Julian’s wire logs. The paper trail links directly to shell accounts in your maiden name. If I intervene, I’ll be disbarred and facing prison right beside you."
"We are the upper crust of this city!" she screamed. "We don't go to prison!"
"The law applies to everyone, Evelyn. Even the Williams family. Get yourself a top-tier criminal defense attorney and stay away from me." The call disconnected with a sharp click.
Evelyn threw the phone against the marble fireplace, shattering the glass screen into a dozen pieces. As she stood breathing heavily in the silence of the empty manor, the front doorbell echoed through the halls.
Hope briefly flared across her face. Perhaps Victor had come to his senses. Perhaps he had returned to beg for her maternal forgiveness.
May you like
She hurried to the grand double doors and pulled them open, only to find two county sheriffs holding an official writ of eviction, accompanied by moving vans parked along the circular driveway.
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