Chapter 4 - The Inventory of Greed
The next thirty minutes were a blur of humiliation for the Sterlings. They were forced to watch as agents verified every item in the house. I stood in the living room, watching Maya wrap a blanket around herself, her eyes finally beginning to thaw. She looked at the house—the house she had scrubbed, the house she had bled for—and she realized it was just wood and nails.
Beatrice tried to hide a designer handbag in her suitcase, but the attorney stopped her. "Ma'am, that bag was purchased on the house’s credit line. It stays."
Watching the pride being stripped away from them, piece by piece, was the most satisfying moment of my life. Ethan looked at me, his eyes pleading for mercy. "Please, just let us stay until the first. I’ll make it right. I’ll be better to her."
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"You had eight years to be better," I said, turning my back on him. "Maya, get in the car."
As we walked out into the biting December air, the deputy stood by the door, ready to lock them out. The last thing I saw was Ethan sitting on the floor in the empty hallway, holding his head in his hands, surrounded by nothing.
