“I cannot do that, Lauren,” I said calmly. “The courier is acting on my direct orders. James needs to sign the papers immediately, or the security company will lock down the electronic gates automatically due to a corporate compliance failure.”
“What are you talking about?” she stammered. “What compliance? This is our home!”
“No,” I replied softly. “It is an asset owned by Sterling Holdings, of which I am the sole director. Tell James to sign the paperwork.”
I hung up before she could respond. Five minutes later, my phone lit up with James’s name. I pressed speakerphone.
“Mom! What is the meaning of this?” James sounded breathless, his voice echoing as if he had run to a quiet corner of the house to escape the growing crowd of guests. “The courier just handed me a forty-eight-hour notice to vacate or purchase the property at current market value! It says the corporate lease is terminated effective Monday morning! Are you insane? Eleanor’s guests are literally walking through the front door right now!”
“I am entirely sane, James,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “You told me at two o’clock this morning that my presence was an inconvenience to your guests. I merely took your advice. If my presence is an inconvenience, then my capital, my assets, and my protection must be an inconvenience as well. I am simply removing myself—and my property—from your lives.”
“Mom, that was about Eleanor! She wanted a specific crowd here today, political people, people who can help my new firm! She felt your… your traditional style wouldn’t fit the demographic! I was just trying to keep the peace!”
“You kept her peace by declaring war on your mother,” I said, my voice cutting through his frantic excuses like a scalpel. “Five years ago, when your business partners abandoned you and you owed millions to creditors who were ready to take everything, you sat on my office couch and cried. You told me you had nothing left. I didn’t tell you that your presence was an inconvenience. I opened my checkbook, bought that house, placed it in a structure you couldn’t touch, and gave you a roof over your head completely free of charge.”
“I know, Mom, and I’m grateful, but—”
