Chapter 3 - THE AMBUSH AT OVERLAND PARK
By 9:15 PM, my SUV pulled into the driveway of my home in Overland Park. Behind me pulled in a sleek black sedan carrying Marcus, a licensed six-foot-four private security officer I had hired through my firm's executive protection network.
The house was ablaze with lights.
Derek hadn't left. In fact, his mother’s Cadillac and his sister’s hatchback were still parked in the garage path.
As I opened the front door, accompanied by Marcus, the sound of shouting reached my ears.
Judith was in the living room, packing framed artwork into cardboard boxes, while Kendra was stuffing silver serving trays into a duffel bag. Derek was standing near my private office desk, frantically trying to pry open my small floor safe with a heavy steel crowbar.
"What do you think you're doing?" I called out, my voice echoing off the high ceilings.
Derek spun around, dropping the crowbar onto the rug with a loud thud. His face was slick with sweat, his eyes wide and bloodshot.
"Tessa!" he yelled, taking a step toward me, but Marcus immediately stepped forward, his massive frame completely blocking Derek's path. Derek froze, staring at the security guard in shock. "Who the hell is this?!"
"This is security," I said calmly, stepping around Marcus. "And you are currently committing felony theft and destruction of private property."
Judith walked out from the living room, holding a crystal vase that had belonged to my grandmother. Her face was flushed with venomous rage.
"How dare you bring a thug into this house, Tessa!" Judith shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at me. "You think you can just kick us out like dogs?! My son gave six years of his life to you! He raised your daughter!"
"He ignored my daughter while you fed her instant noodles in her own kitchen," I snapped back, my eyes locking onto Judith with such intensity that the old woman actually took a step back. "Put my grandmother's vase down, Judith. Right now."
Judith slammed the vase onto a side table. "You ungrateful, selfish bitch! We know what this house is worth! My son has every right to half of this property!"
"He has right to nothing," I said, pulling out a white envelope from my coat pocket. "This is a formal Notice to Vacate, drafted by my attorney. You have no legal tenancy here. And as for Derek..."
I turned my eyes to my husband, who was trembling, clutching his hands together.
"Where is the forged deed, Derek?" I demanded softly.
Derek swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward his mother. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Marcus," I said quietly. "Call Detective Miller at the Overland Park Police Department. Tell him we have an active break-in and attempted destruction of real estate documents."
"NO! Wait!" Derek screamed, throwing his hands up in absolute terror. "Don't call the cops! Don't call the cops, Tessa, please!"
"Then give me the paper," I commanded.
With shaking hands, Derek reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded set of official legal documents. He held them out toward me like a defeated dog.
Marcus took the papers and handed them to me.
I unfolded the document. It was a purchase agreement for my grandfather’s house, addressed to a private real estate investment firm named Vanguard Apex Properties. The purchase price was listed as $500,000—nearly $350,000 below market value—with a cash deposit of $100,000 scheduled to be wired directly into a brand-new private account registered solely under Derek Hollis’s name.
On the final page, above my typed name, was a forged signature in dark blue ink.
It was a terrible forgery, but with a corrupt or negligent notary, it would have been enough to initiate a fraudulent quiet title transfer.
"Five hundred thousand dollars?" I breathed, looking up at Derek in utter disgust. "You were going to sell my daughter's childhood home for pennies on the dollar just to get a fast hundred grand in cash?"
"I needed the money, Tessa!" Derek broke down, crying pathetically, falling onto his knees on the hardwood floor. "I owe two hundred thousand dollars to private lenders in St. Louis! They threatened to come after me! I had no choice!"
"You had a choice not to gamble or invest in fraudulent schemes behind my back!" I yelled, my voice finally cracking with emotional thunder. "You stole from me! You neglected my child! You brought your toxic, greedy family into my home to eat my food while you plotted to put my daughter on the street!"
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I stepped toward him, looking down at the man I had once loved.
"Get out," I whispered, every word dripping with absolute finality. "Take your mother, take your sister, and get out of my sight before I have Marcus carry you out in handcuffs."
