CHAPTER 3 – The Mansion Was Empty... But the Truth Wasn't
Eleanor refused to leave.
She marched toward the gate again.
"This is ridiculous."
"Open it."
"I know all our furniture is inside."
Charlotte tilted her head.
"Is it?"
Confusion spread across Eleanor's face.
"What does that mean?"
I pressed a button on my phone.
The enormous front doors slowly opened.
Gasps spread through the crowd.
The mansion looked beautiful.
But...
Something was wrong.
The foyer echoed.
No grand piano.
No antique tables.
No paintings.
No crystal chandelier.
Nothing.
Room after room stood completely empty.
The movers stared in disbelief.
Vanessa stopped recording.
Even Damian looked stunned.
"The furniture..."
he whispered.
"Where is everything?"
I answered quietly.
"Mine is in storage."
"What wasn't mine..."
"I left for you."
Eleanor frowned.
"What?"
Charlotte opened another folder.
"The furniture purchased during the marriage was divided during mediation."
She turned a page.
"Mr. Holloway elected to keep the condominium in Greenwich."
"Rather than household furnishings."
Damian's eyes widened.
He remembered.
During mediation he had laughed.
He'd insisted the expensive downtown condominium mattered far more than "old furniture."
He had barely read the inventory list.
Now he realized...
Every priceless antique.
Every painting.
Every Persian rug.
Every handcrafted dining table.
Every wine collection.
Every piece of artwork inherited from my parents...
Had always belonged to me.
Nothing inside that mansion had ever been his.
Graham whispered,
"So..."
"We rented two moving trucks..."
"...for an empty house?"
One of the movers coughed to hide a laugh.
A neighbor didn't bother hiding hers.
Then another.
Soon quiet chuckles rolled through the gathered crowd.
Eleanor's face burned crimson.
"No."
"No..."
"This can't be happening."
Charlotte wasn't finished.
"There is one final matter."
She handed another document to the officer.
"Because witnesses observed multiple attempts to gain unauthorized access..."
"...and because video evidence clearly shows instructions to remove property..."
"My client is requesting formal trespass warnings for every member of the Holloway family."
The officer nodded.
"I'm afraid I'll have to ask each of you for identification."
Vanessa finally lowered her phone completely.
May you like
Her livestream had never ended.
Thousands of viewers had just watched the Holloways discover they had tried to steal an empty mansion they didn't own.
