Chapter 3 - THE EVICTION NOTICEAt 2:00 PM, Jackson was released on bail. He didn't go back to the house—he couldn't, thanks to a strict emergency restraining order keeping him 500 feet away from me and my property. Instead, he went straight to his parents' house, where his mother was having a full-scale panic attack.
I know because my surveillance app pinged me with high-definition audio and video feeds from the smart doorbell I had left active.
"What do you mean our cards are declined?!" Genesis shrieked through the speaker feed as I sat at my pristine kitchen island, enjoying a quiet lunch. "I tried to buy groceries and the machine said 'Account Frozen'!"
"Mine too!" Jackson yelled, slamming his fist against his parents' kitchen counter. "And my corporate email is locked! HR just sent a security team to my office! They said an external federal audit flagged our payroll accounts!"
"It was Maya," Richard muttered, his face pale, sinking heavily into a kitchen chair. "That cold-hearted bitch... she’s not just some ordinary wife. Did you see that uniform? She’s military police. Federal investigators don't play by normal rules."
"I’ll call her! I’ll fix this!" Jackson grabbed his phone, dialing frantically.
My phone buzzed on the counter. Caller ID: Jackson (The Mistake).
I let it ring three times before tapping speakerphone.
"Maya! Please, you have to help me!" Jackson's voice was frantic, cracking with genuine terror. "The bank froze everything! My firm is investigating me! They’re talking about federal prison, Maya! We’ve been married for three years, please—"
"Jackson," I interrupted, my tone icy and clinical. "You have three hours to clear all of your personal belongings out of the guest storage locker downstairs. I’ve already had the locks changed on the main apartment doors."
"Maya, listen to me! My parents have nowhere to go! Their house is being foreclosed on—we needed your apartment because we’re broke! The business failed months ago!"
The confession hung heavy in the air.
"So, the entire dinner was a staged shakedown," I said softly. "You didn't just want my apartment for Genesis’s stairs. You wanted my clean credit, my unencumbered asset, and my monthly cash flow to bail out your bankrupt family business."
Silence stretched on the other end of the line. The heavy breathing of a trapped animal.
"Please, Maya," Jackson whispered, his voice breaking into a pathetic sob. "Drop the charges. Drop the audit. I'll sign the divorce papers. Just... don't ruin my life."
May you like
"Your life was ruined the moment you decided to throw that plate, Jackson," I replied. "And as for your parents? Tell Genesis to start practicing walking down those difficult stairs. She's going to need the exercise when the bank takes her house."
I tapped the screen, cutting the call permanently.
