A sleek black luxury sedan parked right behind Mark's worn blue family car.
A tall man dressed in a sharp grey suit stepped out holding a leather briefcase.
Mark recognized the man immediately from old local newspaper photos and television commercials.
It was Arthur Vance, the most ruthless real estate investor in the entire county.
Arthur walked up the front steps with a polite yet cold smile on his face.
Brenda rushed past Mark in the hallway to open the heavy wooden door quickly.
Brenda: Welcome, Mr. Vance, thank you for coming on such short notice.
Arthur: Good evening, Miss Miller, I assume all the necessary paperwork is ready?
Mark: Nobody is selling this house tonight, Mr. Vance.
Arthur stepped into the foyer and tipped his expensive felt hat toward Mark.
Arthur: You must be the younger brother who works down at the local garage.
Mark: I am the man who pays the bills and takes care of this home.
Arthur: According to county land records, your uncle Richard sold this deed to my firm.
Arthur opened his leather briefcase and pulled out a fresh stack of legal documents.
He pointed his gold fountain pen at a highlighted clause on the second page.
Arthur: The foreclosure notice was delivered three months ago to your father's mailbox.
Mark: My father has severe dementia and lives in the ground floor bedroom here.
Arthur: That is a personal tragedy, but legal contracts remain valid regardless.
Brenda stood right beside Arthur with a look of quiet triumph on her face.
Brenda: He offered me a fifteen percent finder fee if I deliver the house empty.
Mark: You sold out your own father and brother for a small cash payout?
Brenda: I need to leave this small town and start my own life, Mark!
Mark: By putting your own family out on the street without a roof?
Arthur raised his gloved hand to stop the heated argument between the two siblings.
Arthur: I am a businessman, not a heartless monster, young man.
Arthur: I will give you until tomorrow morning at nine to pack your personal belongings.
Mark: You are not taking this house, and you need to leave right now.
Arthur smiled thinly and turned back toward the open front door of the home.
Arthur: My eviction deputies will be here at dawn to enforce the order.
Mark watched the lawyer step back into the dark night air as rain started falling.