Chapter 439
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Chapter 439:
Back on the island, Jocelyn closed her eyes and listened to Gaston’s heartbeat. She had no idea what was happening in New York, and she didn’t care.
For the first time in her entire life, her soul was completely, untouchably free.
The heavy iron-reinforced oak doors of the Stein family townhouse swung open with a violent crash.
Two massive, unsmiling private security guards stepped out onto the freezing concrete of the Upper East Side sidewalk. Between them, they dragged a struggling, hysterical woman.
“Get your hands off me!” Elouise Stein shrieked, her perfectly manicured nails clawing uselessly at the guards’ thick forearms. “I am a Stein! You cannot do this to me p>
The guards ignored her. They shoved her forward.
𝖱𝗲а𝗱 𝘰𝗇 𝖺ո𝘆 𝘥𝗲𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 oո
Elouise stumbled, her high heels twisting on the uneven pavement. She fell hard onto her hands and knees, tearing the fabric of her expensive Chanel trousers. The cold, dirty concrete scraped the skin from her palms.
Before she could stand, the guards hurled two heavy Louis Vuitton suitcases out the door. The luggage crashed onto the sidewalk beside her. One of the zippers burst open, spilling expensive silk blouses and face creams into a dirty puddle.
“Mr. Arthur Stein’s orders,” the lead guard said, looking down at her with flat contempt. “You are a liability. You have been officially removed from the family trust. If you set foot on this property again, you will be arrested for trespassing p>
The heavy oak doors slammed shut. The deadbolt turned with a heavy, final thud.
Elouise sat on the freezing sidewalk. Her elaborate hairstyle was a ruined, tangled mess. Mascara ran down her cheeks in thick black streaks. Pedestrians in heavy winter coats walked past, staring at the fallen socialite without slowing down.
Cold, sharp panic pierced her chest.
She scrambled to her knees and dug through her spilled purse with bleeding hands. She pulled out her phone and dialed Robert Schneider.
He answered on the fourth ring.
“Robert, please,” Elouise sobbed, her voice small and desperate. “My father threw me out. I have nowhere to go. Please, just wire me enough money for a hotel p>
“You toxic fool,” Robert’s voice hissed through the speaker. “Because of your psychotic daughter, Aspen is going to die in a cage. My company is gone. I am ruined. Burn in hell, Elouise p>
The line went dead.
Elouise gasped. She picked the phone back up with shaking fingers and dialed her son, Cory.
The number you have reached has been disconnected.
Suffocating terror gripped her throat. She dragged herself up from the pavement, grabbed the handle of her one intact suitcase, and limped down the block toward a brightly lit Citibank branch.
She pushed her way inside, ignoring the stares of the tellers. She walked to the ATM, shoved her black card into the slot, and punched in her PIN, trying to withdraw maximum cash.
The screen buffered for three agonizing seconds.
A bright red warning box flashed across the display.
TRANSACTION DENIED. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.