Chapter 5 - The EvictionBy 3:00 PM, Sterling’s Bistro wasn't a restaurant anymore; it was a liquidation site.
Three sleek black SUVs pulled up to the curb outside. Men in sharp gray suits marched through the double doors carrying briefcases and legal documents. They didn't look like police; they looked like executioners of corporate destiny.
David Sterling was hauled out of his own establishment by his collar, his expensive suit wrinkled, his Porsche keys confiscated by Marcus and tossed into a metal trash can.
"You can't do this!" Sterling screamed as a crowd of afternoon pedestrians pulled out their phones to record. "This is a hostile takeover! I have rights!"
"Your rights expired," Marcus said flatly, shoving Sterling toward the pavement, "the moment you shortchanged a single mother to buy leather seats."
Inside, the atmosphere was entirely different.
The kitchen staff—twenty exhausted, overworked men and women who hadn't seen a paycheck in months—stood in a stunned huddle near the dishwashing station. They were whispering, clutching their phones, staring at banking apps that had just miraculously updated.
Elena stood in the middle of them, her phone clutched in her hand, tears streaming silently down her face.
The total balance on her screen wasn't just her back pay. It was enough to cover rent for a year. It was enough to buy groceries with real meat, fresh fruit, and maybe—just maybe—a birthday cake for Rory next month.
"Elena," the head chef whispered, his voice cracking. "Did... did you know him? Did you call Vincent Kane?"
Elena shook her head slowly, her eyes wide with shock. "I’ve never spoken to that man in my life."
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All heads turned toward the back corner booth.
Rory was sitting there swinging her legs, happily dipping a french fry into a small paper cup of ketchup that one of Vincent’s bodyguards had cautiously procured for her.
