The Forgotten Heir's Payback

Chapter 19: The Mansion Foreclosure

Chloe held the phone to her ear as her mother shrieked like a crazy woman. She dropped her cardboard box right on the pavement and ran toward her car.

Her heart pounded against her ribs like a heavy drum. Every single thing her family owned was disappearing into thin air, torn away piece by piece by the husband she had treated like dirt.

She drove across the city like a wild person, blowing through yellow lights and making her tires squeal. Twenty minutes later, her red car pulled onto the quiet street of the Vance family private neighborhood.

The scene on her front lawn made her blood freeze inside her body.

Three big black bank trucks were parked along the stone driveway. Four police officers stood by the front entrance, keeping back a crowd of curious neighbors who were taking pictures with their phones. Two men in formal dark suits were wrapping thick yellow tape across the heavy iron gates and putting big white legal stickers over the shiny golden door handles.

Beatrice stood right in the middle of the green lawn, looking like a total madwoman. Her short hair was messy, her heavy makeup was ruined with tears, and her silk dress was rumpled. She was jumping up and down, pointing her finger at the head bank official.

"Get off my grass!" Beatrice screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice high and scratchy. "You cannot do this to me! I am Beatrice Vance! This is my house! I will have my lawyers throw every single one of you into a dark jail cell by tonight!"

The head bank official, a tall man named Mr. Davis, did not even blink. He adjusted his glasses calmly, holding a thick blue file in his hands.

"Madam Vance," Mr. Davis said in a flat, cold voice. "Shouting will not change the legal reality. This property is being officially seized by Grand Dragon Financial Group starting right now."

"No!" Beatrice shrieked, running over to grab Mr. Davis suit jacket. "My son-in-law is Julian Sterling! His father owns Sterling Enterprises! They have millions of dollars! Julian will call his bank right now and clear this small debt! Just wait until my Julian gets here!"

The neighbors nearby let out loud laughs, pointing at Beatrice red, frantic face.

"Julian Sterling?" a neighbor woman sneered from behind the police line. "Did she not see the news today? Julian got thrown out into a muddy puddle live on television! His family company is going broke by next week!"

"She is still dreaming about that fake rich boy!" another man laughed. "Her real son-in-law was the true billionaire all along, and she kicked him out of her house!"

Beatrice face turned bright red as the harsh words hit her ears. She turned around and saw Chloe running up the driveway, looking completely exhausted with tears running down her pale cheeks.

"Chloe!" Beatrice cried out, running over to grab her daughter arms. "Tell these foolish men to leave! Call Julian! Tell Julian to bring two million dollars right now to save our family house!"

Chloe looked at her mother with hollow, empty eyes. She shook her head slowly, her voice flat and broken. "Julian cannot save us, Mother. Julian is broke. His father company stock crashed today, and Lucas froze all their bank accounts."

Beatrice froze on the spot, her jaw dropping wide open. "What? What are you saying?"

"Lucas owns everything, Mother," Chloe wept, her body shaking from head to toe. "He owns the bank. He owns our logistics company. He took my CEO seat ten minutes ago, and now he is taking this house."

Mr. Davis stepped forward, opening the blue file to show a thick legal document stamped with a shiny red seal. He held the paper right in front of Beatrice wide eyes.

"Madam Vance," Mr. Davis explained clearly for everyone on the street to hear. "Two years ago, your late husband took out a five million dollar mortgage loan using this entire estate as collateral. Six months ago, your family stopped making monthly payments."

Beatrice gasped, stumbling back half a step. "We... we asked for an extension from the local bank!"

"That local bank was bought out by Grand Dragon Financial yesterday morning," Mr. Davis stated smoothly. "The master owner, Mr. Lucas Vance, personally purchased your family mortgage deed using his personal holding company. Under the explicit terms of the contract, because you missed six payments, the bank has the absolute right to take full possession of the land today."

Beatrice fell backward onto her knees right on the wet grass, clutching her head with both hands. "No! No! This is my house! Where will I live? Where will I put my fine clothes and gold jewelry?"

"You have no rights on this land anymore," Mr. Davis said coldly, signaling to the movers behind him. "All personal items inside the house belong to the mortgage agreement until your debt is settled in full."

Chloe dropped onto her knees beside her mother, covering her face as she sobbed out loud. The humiliation was total and absolute. The proud Vance family, who had looked down on every poor person in the city for years, was getting kicked out of their own mansion in front of all their rich neighbors.

Just then, a sleek, armored black limousine drove down the long street. Ten dark executive cars followed right behind it, forming a grand parade that stopped right in front of the gate.

The entire street went dead silent. The police officers stood at attention, bowing their heads respectfully.

The rear tinted window of the armored black limousine rolled down smoothly with a soft mechanical hum.

Lucas sat comfortably in the back leather seat, wearing a sharp custom suit and holding a glass of clear water in his right hand. Victoria Thorne sat beside him, reviewing papers on her tablet.

Beatrice looked up from the grass, her eyes lighting up with a desperate, crazy spark. She dragged her knees across the dirt, crawling toward the car door like a beggar.

"Lucas!" Beatrice wailed, hitting her hands against her own chest. "Lucas, my good son! I was wrong! I treated you badly, but I am still your mother-in-law! You ate my food for three years! You cannot leave your mother on the street like a dog!"

Chloe looked up through her tears, reaching out her shaking hands toward the dark car window. "Lucas... please... leave us a place to sleep..."

Lucas looked down at the two women kneeling in the dirt before him. His face remained as cold and calm as a frozen lake, devoid of any anger or pity.

"Mother-in-law?" Lucas asked softly, his voice carrying clearly across the quiet street. "For three years, you called me a stray dog. You made me clean your shoes and eat your leftover scraps. When I signed the divorce paper, you threw three thousand dollars at my chest and told me to get out before morning."

Beatrice wept loudly, slapping her own cheeks in deep regret. "I was blind, Lucas! I am sorry! I will clean your shoes every day if you just let us stay in this house!"

"My house is not for trash," Lucas said quietly.

He reached beside his seat and picked up a large, unopened yellow box of cheap plastic trash bags. He held the box out of the open car window.

With a casual flick of his wrist, Lucas dropped the box of trash bags right onto the wet lawn, right between Chloe and Beatrice shaking hands.

Lucas drives past the estate in his armored limousine, lowers the tinted window, and throws a single box of trash bags onto the lawn, telling them to pack fast before the movers arrive.