Chapter 9 - The Return to the Homestead
By noon, the legal nightmare was officially over. The county recorder’s office had processed the emergency deed reinstatements, restoring my parents' absolute ownership of the homestead without a single legal encumbrance.
I drove straight back to the farmhouse. The first thing I did when I pulled into the gravel driveway was walk up to the security camera mounted above the barn. I reached up, unscrewed the high-definition lens, and removed the encrypted backup transmitter from the weather vane. We didn't need covert surveillance anymore. The enemy was gone.
When I unlocked the front door, the house was deathly quiet.
Claire was standing in the middle of the living room, surrounded by half-packed designer suitcases, her face stained with tears and smeared mascara. The reality of her total abandonment had finally set in. Marcus Vance was facing federal indictment and had already blocked her number; her high-society friends had stopped answering her calls the moment the news broke online; and her meal ticket had evaporated into thin air.
"Daniel..." she choked out, turning toward me with pathetic desperation. "Please... I made a horrible mistake. I was blind, I was greedy... but we can start over. Sell the farm, take the money, and let's move away from this dump. Just don't leave me."
I walked past her without breaking stride, tossing her packed suitcases down the front porch steps into the mud.
"There is no 'we', Claire," I said, my voice completely devoid of emotion. "You chose your path when you laughed on that porch while my parents lay beaten in the chicken coop."
"You can't do this!" she shrieked, her mask of composure shattering completely as she grabbed my arm. "I'm your wife! You took vows!"
I gently but firmly peeled her fingers off my jacket, stepping back out onto the porch.
May you like
"Vows require loyalty, Claire. You traded mine for a developer's promise and a white silk dress," I replied, looking down at her with cold indifference. "Divorce papers will be served to you by the end of the week. Don't ever step foot on this property again."
I closed the front door, locking the deadbolt with a solid, definitive click.
