Catherine: Robert! Get up! We have to leave through the back garden gates!
Robert: Where are we going to go, Catherine? We have no money, no car, and no home.
Catherine: We can take my jewelry box from the master bedroom!
Clara: The jewelry in that box was cataloged by Mr. Vance three days ago, Catherine. Touch one piece and you will be added to the grand larceny indictment.
Catherine stopped near the doorway, her breath coming in fast, sharp hitches as tears ruined her heavy makeup.
Catherine: You are a monster! A cold, heartless monster!
Clara: I am my mother's daughter. She suffered in silence for twenty years so I could stand here today with total clarity.
The grand front doors of the foyer opened, and heavy boot steps echoed across the marble entry floor.
Sheriff Miller: Hello? Is anyone in the dining room?
Clara: We are in here, Sheriff Miller! Please come in!
A tall, grey-haired man in a khaki sheriff's uniform stepped through the arched doorway, holding a thick brown folder in his gloved hand.
Sheriff Miller: Good morning, Clara. Mr. Vance asked me to deliver these eviction notices personally.
Clara: Thank you, Sheriff. Robert and Catherine were just preparing to pack their personal clothes.
Sheriff Miller: Robert, Catherine. You have thirty minutes to collect your personal clothing under my supervision. No legal files, no jewelry, and no estate heirlooms may be removed from the property.
Catherine: Sheriff! This girl is an impostor! She tricked the probate court!
Sheriff Miller: Catherine, I knew Grace Vance for forty years. This girl has her mother's eyes and her grandfather's iron spirit. The DNA testing was verified by the state lab three days ago.
Catherine turned her face away in deep embarrassment as Sheriff Miller set two white paper notices on the mahogany table.
Sheriff Miller: Robert, I also have a court summons for you regarding the Delaware financial holdings.
Robert: I understand, Jim.
Sheriff Miller: I suggests you hire a public defender, Robert. Your corporate firm resigned as your legal representation an hour ago.
Robert closed his eyes, nodding his head slowly in complete resignation.
Catherine: Public defender?! Robert, you are a prominent business executive!
Clara: He was an executive because my mother's estate paid his salary, Catherine. Now that the estate is frozen, he is just an unemployed fraudster.
Sheriff Miller: Let's move upstairs, folks. Thirty minutes starts right now.
Catherine gripped Robert's arm, dragging him toward the hallway as Sheriff Miller followed two paces behind them.
Clara stood alone in the grand dining room, listening to their footsteps fade up the long staircase toward the master wing.
She unclasped the silver key from her neck, holding it tight inside her hand as the warmth of the metal pressed into her palm.
Clara: It's over, Mom. Your home is safe now.