Chapter 2: The Document on the Table
Claudia scrambled to her feet, her hand pressed against her cheek.
"You just made the biggest mistake of your life, old man."
Richard didn't flinch.
He pulled Ethan closer and looked at Mark.
"How long has this been going on?"
Mark said nothing.
"How long, Mark?"
"It wasn't that serious—"
"Your three-year-old son was outside barefoot for nine hours and you call that not serious?"
Claudia cut in.
"He was being disciplined.
That's none of your business."
"Everything under this roof is my business." Richard reached into his coat and pulled out a folded document.
He set it on the table without looking at her.
Claudia picked it up.
Her face changed.
"This can't be real."
"It's very real.
Every signature.
Every date."
Mark stepped forward and grabbed the paper.
He read it once.
Then again.
"Dad…
you own this house?"
Richard looked at his son with something close to grief.
"I've owned it since before you married her.
I put it in your name as a wedding gift." He paused.
"I never transferred it to hers."
Claudia's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Then Richard's phone rang.
He looked at the screen and his jaw tightened.
"That's the family lawyer."
He answered it — and put it on speaker.
---
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What the lawyer said next changed everything.
Click the link below to read the full story — and find out what Richard has been quietly preparing all along.
