Chapter 8 - The Desperate Move
The next forty-eight hours unfolded like a falling line of dominoes.
With the injunction placed on their bank accounts, Richard and Monica were suddenly cut off from their hidden funds in the Cayman Islands. They couldn't pay their credit card bills, they couldn't access their cash, and most importantly, they couldn't pay Arthur Pendelton his legal fees.
On Thursday morning, Pendelton filed a motion with the court to withdraw as their attorney, citing "irreconcilable differences and non-payment of retainer."
They were completely alone, cornered, and penniless.
I spent Thursday afternoon sitting on my deck, watching the autumn leaves drift down the hillside. My house felt like a sanctuary—a place of absolute peace amidst the storm raging below. But I knew desperate people do desperate things.
At 9:00 PM, my phone chimed with an alert from my smart security system.
Motion detected at North Driveway.
I opened the live security camera feed on my phone screen.
A dark SUV was parked near the lower gate of my property. In the night-vision feed, two figures stepped out and began walking up the gravel path toward my house.
It was Monica and Dylan.
I tapped the button to call the local sheriff's department immediately. "I have two trespassers on my property at 412 Ridgeview Way. There is an active restraining order against one of them."
"Units are dispatched, ma'am. Stay inside and lock your doors," the dispatcher instructed.
I stood by the kitchen counter, watching the live video feed. Monica carried a large plastic container, while Dylan carried a metal crowbar.
They weren't here to negotiate. They were here to destroy.
Monica walked up to my front porch and splashed liquid from the container onto my wooden deck stairs. The distinct smell of gasoline drifted through the open window vent.
My heart pounded against my ribs. She was going to burn my home down.
"Dylan, hurry up!" Monica’s voice came through the outdoor camera microphone. "Break the glass on the side door! If she doesn't have a home, she can't fight us in court!"
"Mom, this is crazy!" Dylan hesitated, holding the crowbar. "We're going to go to prison!"
"We’re already ruined, you idiot!" Monica yelled, snatched the crowbar from his hands, and swung it violently against the glass pane of my side entrance door.
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The heavy safety glass shattered with a loud crash.
Before Monica could reach inside to open the lock, blinding blue and red lights illuminated the entire driveway as three sheriff patrol cars sped up the mountain road, sirens blaring through the night air.
