Chapter 3 - The Gathering Storm-3
By late afternoon, the rain began to fall over Manhattan, washing the dusty streets in a dark, glossy sheen.
Inside the empty Upper East Side apartment, Arthur stood in the middle of the echoing living room, his expensive tailored suit soaked from the storm. Beside him stood Valerie, wearing a beige designer trench coat, holding an infant car seat containing their newborn baby, and looking around the bare walls with an expression of utter disbelief and rage.
“Where is the furniture, Arthur?” Valerie screamed, her voice shrill and echoing off the concrete walls. “You told me we were moving into a luxury penthouse! Where are the rugs? Where is the nursery set you promised me?”
Arthur ran his trembling hands through his thinning hair, his face pale and slick with sweat. “I... I don't know! Eleanor said Sarah was leaving, but I didn't think she would take everything!”
Eleanor emerged from the back hallway, clutching the crumpled white letter I had left on the floor. Her eyes were red, her face sallow, and her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
“She took everything, Arthur!” Eleanor wailed, stumbling toward her son. “The lease... the security deposit... the furniture! She canceled the bank transfers! The building manager just left! He said if we don't produce a certified cashier's check for $9,800 by nine o'clock tomorrow morning, he is calling the police to have us removed for criminal trespass!”
Valerie turned on Arthur like a predator, her eyes widening in fury. “What does she mean, $9,800? Arthur, you told me you owned this apartment! You told me your family had owned this floor for decades!”
“I... I had to maintain appearances, Valerie!” Arthur stammered, backing away from both women. “My company was restructuring! Sarah was earning a massive salary at the pharmaceutical firm, so I let her handle the housing expenses!”
“You let her?” Valerie shrieked, setting the baby carrier down heavily on the floor. “You idiot! We spent all our liquid cash on the deposit for the seaside house in the Hamptons! I don't have ten thousand dollars in liquid cash!”
“Then use the money in the Valkyrie account!” Eleanor yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Valerie. “My son gave you millions from his firm!”
Valerie froze, her face instantly turning stone gray. “What Valkyrie account? I don't know what you're talking about!”
Before the argument could escalate any further, the heavy front door of the apartment swung open.
Seventeen-year-old Leo stepped into the room, holding his school backpack over his shoulder. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the empty room, his father sweating in a ruined suit, his hysterical grandmother, and the strange woman standing over a baby carrier.
“What is going on here?” Leo asked, his voice deep, guarded, and full of suspicion. “Where is Sarah? Where is all her stuff?”
Eleanor quickly smoothed down her blouse, trying to adopt her usual manipulative tone. “Leo, darling... Sarah has acted very immaturely. She threw a tantrum and moved out because your father decided to bring his real family home.”
Leo looked at the empty walls, then at his father, and finally at the white envelope clutched in Eleanor’s hand.
He didn't look angry at me. For the first time in his life, he looked profoundly confused.
“Sarah bought all this stuff,” Leo said softly, looking at Arthur. “She paid for my tuition last month when your card was declined at the administrative office. She’s the one who stayed up with me until three in the morning when I had pneumonia last year while you were in Miami.”
“Leo, do not speak of that woman!” Eleanor snapped. “She never cared about you! She was using you to stay close to your father’s money!”
At that exact moment, two sharp, heavy knocks echoed against the open front door.
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Three uniformed officers from the NYPD financial crimes unit stepped into the bare apartment, accompanied by a process server holding a stack of legal documents stamped with the official seal of the New York State Supreme Court.
“Arthur Vance? Eleanor Vance?” the lead officer announced, his voice booming across the empty hall. “We have an emergency freezing order on all personal assets and a criminal summons for grand larceny, trust fund embezzlement, and bank fraud.”
