Chapter 21 - The Foreclosure Auction
Three weeks later, the suburban house where I grew up stood under the gray November sky, surrounded by auction signs planted by the county sheriff's department.
The contents of the estate—including the high-end sports car Brandon had purchased with my stolen card, the luxury designer handbags Eleanor had hoarded, and the expensive home audio equipment George had installed—were arrayed across the lawn under a giant auction tent.
My parents stood on the sidewalk across the street, shivering in cheap winter coats they had bought from a thrift store, watching their life’s possessions being sold to the highest bidder to satisfy their restitution debts.
A black town car pulled up to the curb. The chauffeur opened the rear door, and I stepped out, holding a folder of certified deeds.
Eleanor saw me and stumbled forward, her voice cracked and hoarse. "Claire... Claire, please! Look at us! They’re taking the house! We have nowhere to live! George’s pension is frozen! You can buy the note! You have the money! Just buy the house and let us rent it from you!"
I looked at the woman who had given birth to me, feeling neither hatred nor pity—only an immense, liberating emptiness.
"I did buy the note, Eleanor," I said quietly.
Her eyes lit up with a grotesque, desperate hope. "You did? Oh, thank God! I knew you still loved your family! George, hear that? Claire bought the note!"
"You didn't let me finish," I continued coldly. "I bought the note from the bank at auction this morning. And as the sole primary lienholder, I have just instructed the sheriff to finalize the eviction order by five o'clock today."
George let out a strangled groan and sank onto the curb, burying his face in his hands.
"You monster!" Eleanor screamed, her voice breaking into a jagged shriek. "You threw your brother in prison, and now you’re throwing your own mother onto the street!"
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"You threw me onto the street six years ago when you stole my identity and signed my future away to criminals," I replied, my voice steady and unyielding. "You reap what you sow, Eleanor. From this moment on, you do not exist to me. If you ever contact my office, my building, or step foot within five hundred feet of my property, my security team will have you arrested for criminal trespass."
I turned my back on them, climbed back into the car, and told the driver to proceed to Kensington Tower. I didn't look in the rearview mirror once.