“Your things!” her mother shrieked, her voice cracking with fury. “All of your luggage is on my front porch! She kicked you out! Anna kicked you out!”
There was a confused silence on the other end, followed by the sound of a door opening. “What are you talking about? We’re… oh my God.” Chloe’s voice dropped to a horrified whisper. “She’s gone. Anna’s car is gone. And the locks… she changed the locks on the guest room door.”
After the call, a storm of frantic texts and calls from both mother and daughter were fired off at Anna’s phone. They were met with a wall of absolute, digital silence. Every avenue of communication had been severed. They had not just been evicted; they had been erased.
ONE WEEK LATER:
Anna sat in her quiet, peaceful home. The guest room, once a symbol of her violated hospitality, had been transformed. The bed was gone, replaced by a large, light-filled drafting table and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. It was her new home office, a creative sanctuary that was truly, finally, hers.
