But then again, his rise to success would soon catch up with him—he wouldn’t have time to give back to the community anymore, and he’d become obsessed with the money.
I’d have to break up with him. I couldn’t stand it when people valued money more than people. Our relationship would have a tragic end, and I would spend months nursing a broken heart. Hard pass.
Knock, knock, knock.
I set my laptop down and stood up. I didn't know who could be at the door. I picked up the pepper spray from my purse. No one should be in the apartment building. A voice called out, "Just checking to make sure the apartment is clear!"
I hurried and unlocked the door and opened it to find three men standing on the outside wearing hard hats. They looked surprised to see me.
"Are you here to start the demolition?" I asked. "Were you here earlier?"
"Earlier? Yes, we were doing a walk-through to evaluate the building. All the utilities are going to be shut off and disconnected this evening. We’re preparing to start demolition in a couple days."
I stuffed the pepper spray in the back pocket of my jean shorts. "What a shame. Mercier must be on top of things. I hadn't expected you to start demolition for another month or two."
"Mr. Mercier is pushing to get this done as soon as possible. We have to remove this building so that they can lay the foundation for the next since we have a deadline to meet. We thought that they had already given the eviction notice for this building."
"Oh they did," I answered them. "It just didn't make sense for me to move out when there's a perfectly good apartment to live in until you came to flatten the building."
They chuckled at that.
"Looking to stay in Riverly?" one man asked.
"Yes, I was hoping so."
"Good luck finding housing! My wife turned my man cave into a studio apartment and is renting it out."
"Do you have anywhere to go?" another man asked me.
With a heavy sigh, I answered, "I have one more place I could try. Things rent out so fast here I can't seem to get my foot in the door."
"Are you sure this place will work out for you?" asked the slender man who looked like he did all of the manual labor.
"It will, it’s just my least favorite option. You guys wouldn't feel like helping me carry some things out to my car, would you?"
With their help, it only took us two trips to fill my car. All the furniture was thrift store furniture that had seen better days, so I left it in the apartment. The place where I was going was already furnished. It was a distasteful option, but I didn't have much choice.
Standing on my own two feet was difficult when my own father had swept my house out from under me.
I had many names for Sebastian Mercier.
Mr. Moneybags, Mr. Moneytaker, Dad, soul crusher. I also liked to call him 'Sebastian Mercenary’ with the way he treated money in people's lives. It was a shame he didn't care about his own family the way he cared about his money.
At least I knew that he wouldn't be at his house here in Riverly. Like I’d told Bartholomew, the house was empty and open for the taking. I just preferred not to mention that Sebastian Mercier was the one who owned the house—or the fact that he was my father. I didn’t want Bane to know I was connected to the man who was responsible for evicting us.
Dad had bought and furnished the house on Cypress Avenue, hoping that I would live in it until he and my mom retired. When mom returned from her medical mission trip, they would move back to Riverly. Dad wanted us to be one big happy family again.
Too bad he’d destroyed any chance of that long ago.
Too bad I'd thrown away my spare keys in the process of freeing myself. But if I knew anything about Sebastian, creature of habit that he was, his spare key would be in the same spot as it was at every other house he’d lived in for the past twenty years.
I'd never lived in the Cypress Avenue home; Mercier bought it intending to save it for retirement.
Dad was waiting on mom to return from her medical mission's trip before they moved in. She'd been a nurse and a mother for years. When Nate and I graduated college, she saw it as a chance to take a mid-life trip and save the world from sickness. When her trip was completed, she would head home to Riverly for the retired life.
The overwhelming emotions flooded through me as I decided whether or not to go directly to the house. Unable to decide what was the predominant emotion I was feeling, I drove around the small town of Riverly, admiring the views.
Finally, realizing that I would have to go to the house eventually, I pulled into the Willow Loop neighborhood. I drove slowly, glancing around at the houses lining the street.
It was a beautiful neighborhood, but I wouldn't expect anything less from Mercier.
I climbed out of my overly ordinary minivan and typed in the code to open the garage door. Some things never changed. I drove my car inside and closed the door quickly, hoping that none of the neighbors were home and noticed me driving in. It would be a little difficult to explain my presence here, so I'd have to come up with something good. If all else failed, I could rely on the truth. No one would think anything of the daughter of Sebastian Mercier living in his own house. I grabbed the house key that sat under an oil pan in the far, right corner of the garage and unlocked the door.
Time to make myself at home.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Homeowners Association Rule #17:
Trampoline covers must be green.
I’d left my personal phone at the Cypress house.
If it had been a pair of dirty socks, I
