Chapter 3

On the next afternoon, I booked a moving company and a furniture removal service.

I didn't go myself.

I gave them the code and told them to clear the place out.

I didn't want a single thing.

I sat on the balcony of my new apartment, sipping coffee.

The sunlight was perfect.

Lewis messaged me. The contract signing was set for 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Everything was unfolding just as I planned.

Around 3 p.m., an unknown number called.

I knew the drama was about to kick off.

I answered, put it on speaker, and hit record.

Linda's furious voice blasted through the phone, "Grace, you venomous woman. Get out here."

There was chaos in the background, workers shouting, things banging around.

Linda shouted, "What are you doing? This is my home. Who tell you to touch my stuff? This is outrageous. Stop right now. Eric, call the cops. Tell them someone's breaking in and robbing us."

Then Eric's panicked voice came on, "Grace, where are you? Make them stop. This is illegal."

I took another sip of coffee.

Perfect temperature, not too hot.

I spoke, my voice steady as ever, "Eric. I told you yesterday. To move your things out. Guess you didn't take me seriously."

"You, you really sold the apartment?" His voice was trembling.

I told him, "We're signing the contract tomorrow at 10 a.m."

Eric's voice went shrill. He shouted, "No, no way. You can't sell it. That's the place my son's supposed to live. It's his school district apartment."

I corrected him, "That's my apartment. It has nothing to do with your son."

"Grace, I'm begging you. Please don't sell it." Eric's voice softened, almost crying. "After all these years, you can't be this cold."

I laughed, "Years together? When you were celebrating your son with your mistress in the family group chat, did you think about us? When Linda called me a useless old hen, did you think about us?

"Eric, from the moment you all decided to betray me, all that was left between us was a ledger."

He kept making excuses, "Linda's getting on in years. Please don't take it to heart."

"I do take it seriously. That's why I cut off her allowance and sold my apartment. Now she's got no money for retirement, nowhere to brag. Let her see what it's like to have nothing."

Linda grabbed the phone and started cursing, "You how can you be so heartless. I know you are trouble. Should've never let Eric marry you. You wait. I'm bringing my grandson over right now. We're staying here. Let's see who dares to kick us out."

I let out a small laugh and said, "Oh really? Linda, the floor you're standing on belongs to me. If you don't leave, I'll call the police. I'll report you for trespassing. The people you brought are witnesses.

"When the cops show up, tell me. Are you walking out with dignity, or getting dragged out?"

The line went dead silent.

I could picture their faces, pale one moment, flushed the next.

After a while, a soft, sweet voice chimed in.

It was Emily.

"Sister, please don't do this," she said.

She sounded like the classic fake innocent, "I know you're angry, it's all my fault. But the baby's innocent. He's been born, he can't be homeless. Can't we stay here for a bit? We'll move out as soon as we find a place.

"You and Eric have been together for years. Please, have some pity on us..."

I cut her off, "Emily.

"First, I'm not your sister, so stop trying to act close.

"Second, you and your son are pitiful, but that's not my problem.

"And it's not my responsibility.

"When you decide to step into my marriage, you should've known this day would come.

"When you chose to have this child, you should've thought about his future.

"Don't expect me who's the ex-wife you hurt, to pay for your mistakes.

"You want to live in my apartment, use my money, and raise your son with Eric?

"Emily, do you think life is some cheesy drama?

"You think every wife is a pushover saint for you to manipulate?

"Sorry, I'm not.

"I pay back kindness, and I pay back betrayal, too.

"You left me with a mess, so I'll give you a hurricane in return.

"That's fair."

On the other end, Emily was crying softly.

She sounded so pitiful.

Too bad, it didn't move me at all.

Eric's voice came back, full of disappointment and blame, "Grace how can you say that? Emily she just loves me too much. What does she do wrong? What does the baby do wrong? It's my fault. Everything should come at me.

"Why are you making things hard for her and the baby."

I couldn't help but laugh.

What a touching tragedy. Seriously, Oscar-worthy.

I replied, "Eric, aren't you getting it wrong? I'm not making things hard for them. I'm just taking back what's mine. My apartment, my money.

"As for you guys, whether you end up under a bridge or in a five-star hotel, it's none of my business. Like I said, since yesterday, we're strangers. A stranger has zero obligation to provide for your love story or your illegitimate kid."

With that, I was done listening to their nonsense.

I continued, "Alright, I've said what I needed to say. The movers are waiting for my instructions. Are you leaving with dignity, or do I have them 'help' you out? You've got five minutes to decide."

I hung up.

I watched the countdown on my phone screen.

Five minutes.

I was sure they'd make the right choice.

Because they knew, I never joked around.

For the next five minutes, my phone stayed silent.

The world was quiet.

I could even hear the distant chirping of birds.

The new apartment I'd rented was in a peaceful neighborhood.

The landscaping was lush and beautiful.

Outside my balcony was a small garden.

This was exactly the kind of life I had always wanted.

Five minutes later, I called the head of the moving company.

"Hello, is this Jake Miller?" I asked.

"Yes, Grace, it's me," Jake replied.

"How's it going?"

Jake sounded a bit uneasy on the other end, "Grace, your ex-husband's family is still blocking the door, refusing to let us do anything. There's an old lady sitting on the floor, crying and making a scene.

"And there's a woman holding a baby, who looks like she's about to pass out. We can't really force our way in."

I'd already figured it out.

Throwing fits and making a scene was all they had.

"It's fine. Keep moving. Take everything except their personal bags. Furniture, appliances, everything I bought, not a single thing stays. If they try to stop you or get physical, don't hesitate. Don't bother being nice to them.

"Call the police. Tell them someone's trespassing, blocking the move, or trying to take my stuff. Remember, you're my legal workers. And they're the ones squatting in my house.

"I'll take full responsibility for everything. I'll double the compensation for any medical bills or lost wages. I only want one thing. Clear out my house within an hour."

Jake let out a sigh of relief, like he'd finally gotten the green light. "Alright, Grace. Your word's all we needed. The guys are ready to roll. Don't worry, we'll make it happen."

The call ended.

I knew there was about to be some real drama over there.

Too bad I couldn't watch it unfold in person.

But that didn't bother me.

I'd already set up a surveillance cam in the living room.

I could stream everything in real time on my phone.

I opened the app.

The video feed came up instantly on my screen.

The living room was a complete disaster.

Like Jake said, Linda was sitting right on the floor, slapping her thighs and bawling her eyes out.

She kept muttering curses like "damn you," "heartless," and "drop dead."

Eric stood next to her, his face pale and totally clueless about what to do.

Emily was curled up in the corner, clutching the baby, her whole body trembling as tears fell like pearls.

A few movers stood at the door, looking hesitant.

Just then, Jake strode in.

He waved his hand at the workers. "What are you standing around for? Get to work. Grace said she'll handle anything that comes up. Move all this furniture out, now."

With that order, the workers seemed to transform right before my eyes.

They completely ignored the three of them.

Working in pairs, they started lifting the sofa.

"Stop. What the hell are you doing?" Eric rushed forward, spreading his arms to block the sofa. "This is my house. Who dares touch my stuff."

Jake let out a cold laugh and stepped forward.

He was half a head taller than Eric and much more muscular.

Jake said, "Sir, let me make this clear one more time. This house belongs to Ms. Nolan. We're here because she hires us to move her things. You and your family are trespassing right now.

"Please leave immediately and don't get in our way. Otherwise, we'll have to call the police."

"Who do you think you're scaring? This is our marital home. I have a right to it too. Go ahead, I dare you to touch anything."

Jake didn't bother arguing with him anymore.

He shot a look at the two workers beside him.

They got the message right away.

One on each side, they grabbed Eric by the arms.

"What are you doing? Let me go. Let me go." Eric fought with all his might.

But up against two burly movers, he was as helpless as a kitten.

They hauled him aside like he weighed nothing.

He couldn't move an inch.

"Help. They're attacking us. Someone's trying to kill us." Seeing her son get grabbed, Linda's wailing hit a whole new level.

She sprang up like a crazed lioness and pounced at one of the movers.

She went full wildcat, clawing and scratching at him.

The mover was caught off guard, and red welts instantly appeared on his face.

Jake reacted fast, pulling Linda away in a flash.

Jake gritted out, "Lady, I'm warning you. Touch anyone again and that's assault. We're calling the cops right now."

He said it, and actually whipped out his phone.

Linda froze for a second when she saw the phone.

She looked a bit rattled.

But that fear barely lasted. Her inner shrew took over. "Call the cops. Go on, do it. You think I'm scared of you?

"Let the police see this. In broad daylight, a bunch of thugs break into my home, steal my stuff, and beat us up. I'm not backing down today."

With that, she charged forward again.

Emily, who'd been hiding in the corner, finally moved.

She dropped to her knees with a thud, still holding the baby.

She bowed right in front of Jake. "Please, I'm begging you. Please, don't move anything. Please. We really have nowhere else to go. The baby's so little Please, have some pity for him."

She was crying so hard, tears streaming down her face. Honestly, even I almost felt sorry for her.

The baby in her arms, freaked out by all the chaos, let out a loud wail.

For a moment, the whole house was chaos: the grandma cursing, the guy yelling, the woman begging, and the baby bawling.

It was like watching the drama of the year.

I stared at my phone screen and took another sip of my coffee, totally unfazed.

Jake clearly hadn't expected to face a scene like this.

He frowned, staring at Emily kneeling on the floor.

He looked like he was wavering.

I picked up my phone and shot Jake a text: [Don't waste your breath on them.

[That woman's a home wrecker, and the kid's illegitimate.

[That old lady just wished I'd never have kids over the phone.

[Call the cops.

[Tell the police these people aren't only trespassing. They're violently resisting and even injure your workers.

[Let them spend a whole month in jail.]

After firing off the text, I settled back into the couch, calm as ever.

I waited in silence, not the least bit anxious.

I knew the cops would show up any minute now.

This circus was finally about to end.

Watching through my phone, I saw Jake glance at his screen, and the change on his face was instant.

The hesitation was gone.

His eyes turned icy cold, almost hateful.

All that warmth vanished, replaced by pure disgust.

He didn't even bother looking at Emily, who was still bowing on the floor.

Jake didn't hesitate. He hit the dial button right away. "Hey. Is this the police? I want to report a crime. The address is 1201, Tower A, Riverside One.

"People are trespassing here. They're causing chaos and attacking my workers. My staff has been injured. We're from a moving company. The situation's out of control. They're totally losing it. Send officers ASAP."

He hung up.

Suddenly, everything went silent.

Eric stopped struggling.

Linda stopped yelling.

Emily's tears dried up.

All three of them stared at Jake like he'd grown a second head.

They couldn't believe I'd really push things this far.

I watched their faces drain of color.

I was completely unmoved.

Honestly, I almost felt like laughing.

The game was just getting started.