Chapter 2 - The Return to the Ruins
The storm followed my convoy of three black armored Cadillacs as we crossed the county line into the affluent suburb of Oakridge. Twelve years ago, I walked along these very asphalt shoulders with bloody feet and a shattered trophy inside a torn duffle bag.
The manicured lawns and stately colonial mansions of Oakridge looked smaller now, faded beneath the gloom of the torrential downpour. We turned onto Crestview Lane, pulling up before the familiar brick residence where I had spent seventeen years of quiet neglect.
The front yard was completely overrun with debt collectors in dark windbreakers, moving heavy wooden furniture and antique oil paintings onto flatbed trucks. A rusted yellow repossession clamp was already locked onto Edward’s vintage luxury sedan idling in the gravel driveway.
Edward sat on the wet porch steps in his wrinkled dress shirt, his hair completely silver, clutching his chest while two burly men shoved legal papers in his face. Evelyn was on her knees in the wet grass, begging the lead creditor not to load her grand piano into the moving van.
My armored SUV came to a smooth halt at the curb, its heavy doors opening as two armed private security guards stepped out with wide umbrellas. I stepped onto the wet asphalt in my handmade leather boots, the rain beading harmlessly off my tailored cashmere overcoat.
The shouting on the lawn ceased instantly as the debt collectors and movers stared at the commanding presence of my security convoy. Evelyn looked up through her tear-streaked mascara, blinking in bewilderment at the towering, muscular billionaire approaching the porch.
"Who the hell are you?" the lead creditor barked, stepping forward with a clipboard of court-ordered seizure warrants. "This property is under federal lien, and unless you have twelve million dollars in certified bank drafts, get back in your fancy car."
I did not even look at the man, keeping my eyes fixed on Edward, who was trembling violently against the porch railing. "Stand up, Edward," I said quietly, the two simple words carrying the force of an arctic blizzard.
Edward looked into my eyes, his jaw dropping as the ghost of the boy he had brutalized twelve years ago materialized before him. "Lucas... is that... is that really you?"
Evelyn crawled across the wet lawn, her manicured hands grasping for the hem of my overcoat, weeping uncontrollably. "Lucas, my baby, you came back to save your family, I knew your mother's heart could never be forgotten!"
I took a single step backward, letting her hands fall into the cold mud without allowing her to touch my coat. "I did not come to save a family, Evelyn; I came to inspect the wreckage of the golden boy you built with my stolen future."
The lead creditor scoffed, waving the repossession contract aggressively in my face. "I do not care about your family drama, mister; this foreclosure takes effect at twelve o'clock sharp, and these two old frauds are going to the homeless shelter."
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I gestured slightly with two fingers, and my personal attorney stepped out of the second vehicle, holding a stamped titanium briefcase. "You will halt this repossession immediately," my attorney stated, opening the case to reveal twelve million dollars in certified Treasury notes.
"The debt of this estate has just been purchased in full by Vanguard Capital," my attorney announced to the stunned crowd. "Which means every brick, every room, and every blade of grass on this property now belongs exclusively to Lucas Vance."
