I remained seated on the rough asphalt, my scraped palms resting on my lap, the dust from the Ferrari’s tires settling onto my gray clothes. I stared directly at Richard through the windshield.
Richard tapped the horn again, a long, blaring sound that made Trent jump in the passenger seat. The tinted window hummed down once more.
“I said move, you old bat!” Richard yelled, his face flushing with genuine anger now. It was the rage of a boy who could not comprehend defiance. “You’re scratching the paint with your garbage! Do you know how much this car costs? It’s worth more than your entire miserable life!”
Chase walked over from the nearby SUVs, standing behind the Ferrari with his arms crossed. “Just run her over, Rich. The school will probably thank you for taking out the trash.”
I took a slow, steady breath, letting the sting in my palms anchor me. I pulled my hand out of my apron pocket.
The device I held was not the cheap, shattered prepaid phone the students expected the cafeteria lady to carry. It was a custom-built, military-grade executive smartphone, encased in matte black titanium. The screen glowed with biometric precision as my thumb pressed against the sensor.
Richard’s eyes tracked the movement. His brow furrowed in sudden confusion. He recognized the brand immediately—it was the same exclusive hardware his father’s bodyguards and top executives carried, the kind of technology that cost ten thousand dollars and required a corporate security clearance.
His confusion quickly curdled back into arrogant mockery.
“Who did you steal that from?” Richard scoffed, pointing a finger at me. “Trent, look at this. The lunch lady swiped somebody’s corporate phone from the locker room. I should have you arrested right now.”
I ignored him completely. I tapped the single icon on the encrypted screen. The secure line connected immediately.
“Mrs. Vance,” David Baker’s calm, professional voice echoed through the earpiece. Even through the small speaker, the deference in my lead attorney’s tone was unmistakable.
“David,” I said. My voice was no longer the soft, deferential whisper of Ella the cafeteria worker. It was the sharp, commanding tone that had closed billion-dollar acquisitions.
Richard went perfectly still in the driver’s seat. He heard the shift in my voice. His eyes darted from the phone in my hand to my face, searching for a joke he couldn’t quite find.
“I have made my decision regarding the Sterling Real Estate Group portfolio,” I said smoothly, keeping my eyes locked on Richard.
Chase, standing behind the car, let out a loud, theatrical sigh. “Oh my god, she’s crazy. She’s pretending to be on a business call. Hey Rich, call Headmaster Davis. Tell him the trash collector is having a psychotic break.”
Richard didn’t laugh. He stared at me, his fingers tightening on the leather steering wheel. The mention of his family’s company name had caught his attention, even if his brain was furiously trying to dismiss it as a coincidence.
“What are your instructions, ma’am?” David asked through the phone.
“Cancel the lease extension for Green Hill Estates,” I ordered, my words echoing clearly in the quiet air between the car and the pavement. “Execute the termination clause on Lot 9 as well. I want the default notices served immediately. Send the physical eviction teams to the Sterling residence at Green Hill. Today.”
“Ma’am, Charles Sterling is currently sitting in our lobby pleading for a meeting,” David noted mildly. “He claims they are thirty days away from securing the refinancing. If we terminate today, the bank will seize his assets by sundown.”
“Let them,” I replied coldly. “Have security remove Mr. Sterling from your lobby. Then dispatch the bulldozers to the Green Hill main gates. I want the property secured and locked down within the hour.”
I tapped the screen, severing the connection, and slowly lowered the phone.
A heavy, oppressive silence fell over the parking lot. Trent looked at Richard, a nervous, uncertain smile flickering on his face. Chase had stopped leaning on the car.
Richard stared at me, his jaw working as his mind struggled to process what he had just heard. His ego demanded that it be a prank, a delusional old woman babbling nonsense. But the phone in my hand, the precise legal terminology I had used, and the unflinching authority in my eyes created a cognitive dissonance that made his hands shake.