Chapter 6 - Protocol Seven Was Never an Arrest Order
Protocol Seven sounded dramatic.
The reality was more disciplined.
Northstar used numbered operational protocols whenever control of a distressed property changed hands.
Protocol Seven covered hostile occupancy transition.
If authorized representatives faced threats, destruction of collateral, obstruction, or physical intimidation during a transition period, on-site private security would enter, secure access points, preserve property, document conditions, and prevent anyone from interfering with the lawful handover.
No arrests.
No beating occupants.
No dragging rich people from dining tables.
Security preserved the scene until attorneys and property managers handled everything else.
The three guards had already been stationed in vehicles outside the villa.
Not because I expected Diane to pour mop water over me.
Because that afternoon was the first scheduled transition meeting.
Brendan knew Northstar representatives were arriving.
He did not know I was the principal attending.
He thought I had come separately to discuss pregnancy-related financial arrangements.
That assumption was exactly why Diane and Jessica felt free to humiliate me.
To them, I was still the discarded ex-wife arriving at Brendan’s house.
I had worn the earpiece because Rebecca and our transition team were monitoring the meeting remotely.
The moment Brendan threatened me and lunged—
the meeting became hostile.
Protocol Seven became appropriate.
The dirty water didn’t activate it.
Jessica’s insult didn’t activate it.
Brendan’s physical escalation did.
That distinction mattered to me.
Power without rules was exactly what had destroyed Brendan.
May you like
I wasn’t interested in copying him.
---
Related Stories
