Chapter 4 - The Final InventoryDelaney cowered behind Grant, clutching her bare neck where my grandmother's necklace had rested just hours before.
"You can't do this to us," Delaney whimpered, her mascara running down her cheeks in dark, jagged streaks. "We have rights! We have personal property inside!"
"Personal property acquired with embezzled Bellamy funds," the lead property manager stated, stepping forward with a clipboard. He nodded respectfully toward me. "Ms. Bellamy, the federal asset recovery team has inventoried all personal items purchased through corporate accounts. We have authorized ten minutes for them to collect basic personal clothing and toiletries—nothing more."
Grant looked around the grand foyer, his chest heaving as reality finally sank its icy claws into his brain.
"You planned this," Grant whispered, his voice trembling with a mixture of disbelief and pure horror. "From the very beginning. You let me play CEO. You let me think I was winning."
I walked down the stairs, stopping just two steps above him so I could look down into his defeated eyes.
"No, Grant," I corrected softly. "I gave you a rope. For seven years, you had two choices: use it to climb higher with honesty and hard work, or use it to hang yourself by your own greed and arrogance. You chose the noose."
Mavis let out a low, guttural wail and collapsed onto the marble bench by the entrance, burying her face in her hands.
"Ten minutes," the property manager announced, clicking a digital stopwatch. "Start the clock."
Two security guards stepped forward, escorting Grant, Mavis, and Delaney toward the guest wing like common criminals. They weren't allowed into the master suite. They weren't allowed near the wine cellar, the art gallery, or the home office where Grant had spent years drafting fraudulent financial statements.
As Grant passed me on his way down the corridor, he didn't look at my face. His eyes were fixed on the polished marble floor beneath his muddy shoes.
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"What are you going to do now?" he asked hollowly.
"The same thing I've been doing for seven years," I replied, turning away. "Protecting my empire."
