The heavy thud of the G-Wagon doors slamming shut echoed across the manicured driveway. Six men in immaculate dark suits fanned out, forming an impenetrable wall between Olivia and her scattered belongings.
Ethan’s arrogant smirk evaporated, his gold aviators slipping down the bridge of his nose. Beside him, the mistress swallowed her mocking laugh, her hands nervously clutching her white wrap dress. But it was Ethan’s mother, Diane, stepping out onto the porch, who turned the color of wet ash.
From the lead SUV, a man stepped out. He didn’t look like a bodyguard. He looked like an emperor.
Arthur Bennett adjusted his platinum cuffs, his cold, predatory gaze locking onto the trio on the porch.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Ethan barked, puffing out his chest to mask the sudden tremor in his voice. “Get off my property!”
Olivia didn’t cry this time. She calmly wiped a stray tear from her cheek, her hands resting protectively over her pregnant stomach. Her posture shifted, the timid wife vanishing entirely.
“That’s the thing, Ethan,” Olivia said, her voice finally carrying the lethal ice of the Bennett bloodline. “It was never your property.”
One of the men in suits handed Arthur a leather folio. He flipped it open. “Vanguard Holdings purchased this estate three years ago,” Arthur stated, his voice a low, terrifying rumble. “Vanguard is a subsidiary of Bennett Enterprises. I am the Chairman. My daughter is the sole beneficiary.”
Ethan’s jaw unhinged. The mistress instinctively took a large step away from him.
“Furthermore,” Arthur continued, clicking a sleek pen, “the seed funding for your ‘self-made’ startup? Routed through our angel syndicate. As of sixty seconds ago, your board has ousted you, your assets are frozen, and you are officially trespassing.”
Olivia picked up her black suitcase. She didn’t look broken anymore. She looked exactly like what she was: an heir.
“Leave the clothes,” Olivia instructed the guards, not sparing Ethan a final glance. “They smell like cheap perfume and bad investments. Let’s go, Dad.”