Chapter 2: The Paper That Should Not Exist
I set the deed to my house on the table.
Not gently.
I placed it flat, in the center, where the turkey platter had been.
Every person in that room could see my name printed at the top.
Kayla's smile disappeared.
"This house," I said quietly, "belongs to me.
It has always belonged to me.
And I will sit at the head of this table tonight.
Just as I have for forty years."
No one breathed.
Then Kayla laughed.
A short, sharp sound that didn't match her face at all.
"Jordan," she said, turning to my son, "are you going to let her do this?"
Jordan looked at the deed.
Then at me.
Then at his wife.
"Kayla—"
"Tell her," Kayla said.
Her voice had changed.
The sweetness was completely gone.
"Tell her what we discussed.
Tell her what you already agreed to."
The room went ice cold.
Jordan's jaw tightened.
He would not meet my eyes.
"Mom," he said slowly, "there's…
something I should have told you.
A few months ago."
My hands did not shake.
But something in my chest cracked open.
"What did you agree to, Jordan?"
He said nothing.
Kayla reached into her own bag, pulled out a folded document, and slid it across the table toward me.
I looked down.
May you like
At the top, I saw my own signature.
Except I had never signed anything.
