Chapter 4: The Notice Arrives
Gabriella’s courier reached the front door forty-seven minutes after I hung up the phone.
I answered it myself, accepted the sealed envelope, and carried it back to the dining room without ceremony. Linda still stood near her chair. Edward had not sat down again. Dylan and Sarah watched with the wide, careful attention children develop when adults stop pretending everything is fine.
I opened the envelope, removed the original notice, and placed a copy on the table between the candles and the serving dish of stew.
May you like
“This is the formal termination of the temporary occupancy arrangement,” I said. “Thirty days from today’s date. No extension is implied. Personal belongings remain your responsibility to remove. The guest room stays available under the original terms until the final day. My bedroom, the primary bathroom, and the common areas remain under my control. Any further attempt to reassign rooms or issue instructions about my place in this house will be documented and added to the file.”
Linda’s face had lost the bright satisfaction of the earlier announcement. What remained was calculation searching for a remaining lever and finding none.
