Chapter 5 - The Empty Throne
Derek’s hands began to shake, the phone nearly slipping from his sweat-slicked palms. He stared at the screen, the words blurring before his eyes.
"Derek? What is it?" Suzanne asked, her annoying, demanding tone suddenly dropping as she saw the sheer terror on her brother's face. "What does it say?"
"She... she called the police," Derek whispered, his voice cracking, entirely stripped of the booming, confident resonance he had used to threaten her that morning. "She filed a report."
Before Suzanne could answer, the elevator doors at the end of the hall opened with a soft chime. Two uniformed Miami-Dade police officers stepped out, their heavy black boots echoing on the tiled floor.
"Derek Vance?" the lead officer called out, his hand resting calmly on his utility belt.
"Yes?" Derek stammered, his body instinctively tensing. "Look, officers, this is a huge misunderstanding. My wife is having a manic episode. She’s—"
"Save it for the judge, sir," the officer interrupted, pulling a set of folded legal documents from his pocket. "We are here to serve you with a temporary restraining order and to escort you off the property. You have five minutes to retrieve any immediate personal items that are currently outside the apartment, but you are not permitted to enter the unit. Step away from the door."
"But my clothes are in there! My work documents! Everything I own is in that apartment!" Derek yelled, his voice rising in a desperate, pathetic plea.
"The owner of the property, Skylar, has authorized us to inform you that your personal belongings have been packed and delivered to a secure storage facility downtown," the officer replied, his voice completely devoid of pity. "The access key will be mailed to your legal counsel. Now, step back."
Suzanne took a step back, her eyes wide with shock as she realized the golden goose had not just flown away—she had locked the coop and called the wolves. "Derek... what about my money? What about my rent?"
"Shut up, Suzanne!" Derek roared, his face contorting in a mixture of rage, humiliation, and utter ruin.
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As the officers escorted a shouting, desperate Derek and a weeping Suzanne down the hallway toward the service elevator, the silent, empty apartment behind them stood as a monument to a new beginning.
Skylar was gone. The bruises would heal, the scars would fade, and the name Derek Vance would never again be whispered in the halls of her home. The ledger was finally balanced, and for the first time in her life, Skylar was the only one holding the pen.
