Chapter 6 - Unraveling the Web
"You can't do this!" Gertrude howled, suddenly finding her vocal strength. She slammed her wrinkled palms against the table, her face contorting into a mask of pure, unadulterated hatred. "I am Brandon's mother! This is his family home! You swore before God to share all your worldly goods with him! Everything you have belongs to my son! You were an plain, antisocial corporate drone when he met you, and he gave you a family! He gave you status! You owe us everything!"
"Mom, stop! Don't say anything!" Brandon pleaded, but Gertrude was entirely past the point of reason.
"She owes me!" the old woman screamed, spitting as she shrieked at Elena and the deputy. "She leaves my son alone for weeks while she flies to Chicago and New York! She neglects her marital duties! Who cooked his meals? Who kept him company? Me! I raised him, and I have a right to be supported in the manner I deserve! You can't throw me out of my son's house!"
"Keith," Elena said calmly, turning to the process server. "Serve them."
Keith stepped forward with mechanical efficiency. *Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.*
Three thick bundles of legal paperwork landed on the table—one in front of Brandon, one before Gertrude, and one in Hailey’s lap.
"Brandon Cole," Keith announced in a drone-like legal monotone. "You are hereby served with a Summons and Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, an Emergency Application for Sole Physical and Legal Custody of the minor child Skylar Montgomery-Cole, an Ex Parte Order for Exclusive Use and Possession of the Marital Residence, and a Temporary Restraining Order enjoining you from coming within five hundred yards of Charlotte Montgomery, her workplace, and Skylar's school."
Brandon looked at the documents as if they were dipped in strychnine. "Exclusive use... restraining order? Char, you can't kick me out of my own house! Where am I supposed to go?!"
"That is no longer my problem, Brandon," I said. "You have thirty minutes to pack one suitcase of personal clothing under Deputy Miller’s supervision. Anything you leave behind will be inventoried and transferred to a secure storage unit at your expense."
"And what about us?!" Hailey yelled, clutching her papers. "Where are Mom and I supposed to go?! We don't have our own places!"
Elena smiled, and there was no warmth in it. "Mrs. Gertrude Cole and Miss Hailey Cole are being served with formal Twenty-Four-Hour Notices to Vacate as unauthorized lodgers and trespassers. Because neither of you possesses a lease agreement, has ever paid rent, or has established a lawful tenancy under California Civil Code 1946.5, you have until nine o'clock tomorrow morning to remove yourselves completely. If you are on these premises at 9:01 AM tomorrow, you will be arrested for criminal trespass."
"Criminal trespass?!" Gertrude’s voice cracked into an agonizing squeak. "Brandon! Do something! Hit somebody! Protect your mother!"
"If he so much as twitches a finger toward anyone in this room," Deputy Miller said, unhooking the leather snap over his taser, "he will be leaving in metal handcuffs face-down on the driveway. Mr. Cole, you have twenty-nine minutes remaining. Move upstairs and begin packing your clothes."
Brandon sank against the wall, clutching his hair with both hands. The illusion of his domestic kingdom was crumbling around his ears like wet plaster.
"Char... please," he whined, tears of pure self-pity finally leaking down his stubbled cheeks. "Think about Skylar. What will you tell our daughter? That you tore our family apart over a dinner? Over some crab legs?"
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"I won't have to tell her anything," I replied, pulling my phone from my pocket and tapping the screen to project my voice clearly across the room. "Skylar already knows who you are, Brandon. She knew the moment you laughed in the living room while she choked down cold noodles in the dark. You didn't lose your family over crab legs. You lost your family because you are a parasitic coward who forgot that the woman who built this castle also knows how to tear down the bridge."
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