Chapter 3 - The Eviction on Live Stream
"Let him up, Marcus," I said quietly.
Marcus released his grip. Brendan pushed himself off the table, coughing, his hair disheveled, his designer shirt wrinkled and torn at the shoulder.
He looked at me with eyes full of terrifying realization. The woman he had treated like a quiet, obedient housemate for six years—the woman he had abandoned for a younger, wealthier-looking socialite—was standing before him as the absolute sovereign of his entire world.
"Cassidy... please," Brendan wept, falling to his knees right on top of the wet carpet. "I was wrong! I was blind! Jessica meant nothing to me! It was my mother! She forced me to distance myself from you! She said you didn't fit our family image!"
"Brendan!" Diane screamed, her voice shrill and hysterical. "How dare you blame me?!"
"Shut up, Mom!" Brendan yelled back, turning on his mother like a cornered animal. "You did this! You poured that water on her! You kept insulting her every single day! You destroyed my marriage!"
"I destroyed it?!" Diane shrieked, clutching her pearl necklace. "You were the one who brought that girl into our home while Cassidy was pregnant!"
"Both of you stop," I said.
The room fell instant silent again.
I looked down at Jessica, who was trying to quietly slide her designer handbag off the chair and edge toward the hallway door.
"Ms. Hayes," I said.
Jessica froze, turning toward me with tears streaming down her heavily contoured face. "Cassidy... please... I didn't know! I swear I didn't know you were the owner! Brendan told me you were just a former temp who trapped him with a pregnancy!"
"You laughed when she poured dirty water over my head," I said, my voice deadpan. "You told her to bring an old towel so I wouldn't ruin your 'expensive linen'."
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Jessica sobbed, dropping her purse and falling to her knees beside Brendan. "Please don't ruin my career! I just got signed to the agency!"
"Arthur," I commanded, without taking my eyes off them. "Issue a corporate memorandum to all Vance affiliate modeling agencies and brand partners. Terminate Jessica Hayes’s representation contract immediately."
"Done, ma'am," Arthur noted, tapping his tablet.
"And Marcus?"
"Yes, Chairman?"
"They have ten minutes to clear their personal hand luggage from this property," I said, turning my back on the three of them and walking toward the grand foyer. "If they are still on Vanguard grounds at 8:30 PM, have local law enforcement arrest them for criminal trespass."
"Cassidy! No! Cassidy!" Brendan screamed, crawling across the floor after me, reaching out his trembling hands toward the hem of my coat. "Please! Think of our daughter! Where are we supposed to go?!"
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I stopped near the front doors, looking back over my shoulder one last time.
"You told me earlier that twenty dollars was enough for a cab, Brendan," I said softly. "I left two twenty-dollar bills on the dining table. Take your mother, take your girlfriend, and get out of my house."
