My Brother Served Me an Eviction Notice After 27 Years at Our Firm — He Didn't Know I Owned the Patent Entity and the Building
The atmosphere at the upscale restaurant was usually bustling, a soft hum of conversation and clinking cutlery. Today, it felt unnervingly quiet, even with the lunch crowd. I had agreed to meet Chloe, hoping to explain the escalating legal battle in a more neutral setting.
She picked at her salad, her eyes red-rimmed. “Dad says you’re trying to ruin his life, Aunt Nora.”
“He’s trying to ruin mine, Chloe,” I countered softly. “He’s trying to take away everything I’ve spent twenty-seven years building.”
Before I could explain about Marcus or the ledgers, a shadow fell over our table. Arthur stood there, a dark, imposing figure in a custom-tailored suit, his face contorted in a sneer.
Chloe’s fork clattered to her plate. “Dad! What are you doing here?”
He ignored her, his gaze locked on me. “You think you’re clever, Nora? Trying to cut off my funding? Sabotaging my deals?”
A waiter, sensing the tension, nervously hovered nearby. Arthur dismissed him with a sharp wave of his hand.
He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a thick envelope, slamming it onto the table between us. It landed with a loud thud, making Chloe jump.
“This is your final warning,” he hissed, his voice low but menacing. “Sign over all technology rights to Gable Dynamics by midnight tonight. Every patent, every license, every last bit of code.”
He pushed the envelope towards me. “Or face criminal charges for corporate espionage and an additional $50 million in damages. I’ll make sure you never work in this industry again.”
Chloe stared at the envelope, then at her father, her mouth slightly ajar. His face was a mask of cold fury, utterly devoid of the charm he usually reserved for her.
“Dad, what’s wrong with you?” she whispered, her voice trembling. “This is a public place.”
He finally turned to her, a flicker of his usual facade returning, but it was thin, brittle. “Your aunt is trying to destroy our family, Chloe. She’s stealing from us.”
“Stealing?” I scoffed, pushing the envelope back towards him without touching it. “I’m reclaiming what was always mine. And your criminal charges are baseless, Arthur.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “We’ll see about that.”
He leaned in, his voice dropping even lower. “I know about your little friend, Marcus DeWitt. What he’s been telling you. It’s lies, Nora. All lies.”
He straightened up, surveying the restaurant with a theatrical air, as if he were the wronged party.
“Midnight,” he repeated, his voice echoing slightly in the sudden quiet of our section. “Tick-tock.”
With that, he turned and strode out of the restaurant, leaving a trail of stunned silence in his wake.
Chloe watched him go, her face a mixture of horror and dawning realization. Her eyes, usually so full of warmth when she looked at her father, were now wide with an unsettling coldness.
“He… he just threatened you,” she said, her voice barely audible. “In public. Over lunch.”
She looked at me, a new, critical assessment in her gaze. It was as if she was seeing her father, and perhaps me, for the very first time. The mask he wore for her had slipped, revealing the true malice beneath.
The silence between us was heavy, broken only by the distant clatter of dishes. The engagement dinner, originally planned for the coming weekend, would be a very different affair now. Arthur had just shown Chloe a side of himself she never wanted to believe existed.
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