Chapter 2
The front door closed behind the officers.
For the first time all night, the house was quiet.
Amy stared at me.
“Ryan.”
Caleb whimpered against her chest.
I tried to reach for him.
Amy stepped backward.
“Who owns this house?”
I swallowed.
“Amy, Caleb needs a doctor.”
“Answer me.”
Her voice cracked.
That hurt more than shouting would have.
I looked toward the window.
The police cruiser was disappearing down the street.
“My father bought the house years ago.”
Amy blinked.
“What?”
“He bought it before we married.”
“And?”
“When he died, ownership transferred to a family trust.”
Amy’s face drained of color.
“Whose trust?”
I couldn’t lie anymore.
“Teresa is one of the trustees.”
Amy stared at me as if I had become a stranger.
“You told me this house belonged to us.”
“It does emotionally.”
“Emotionally?”
Her laugh was sharp.
“You let me renovate a house we don’t legally own?”
“I’ve been trying to change the trust.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since Dad died.”
“Four years?”
I nodded.
Amy’s eyes filled with tears.
“You lied to me for four years.”
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“That you’d never feel safe here.”
She looked around the kitchen.
“You were right about one thing.”
“What?”
“I don’t feel safe.”
Caleb suddenly cried harder.
Amy touched his forehead.
“Oh God.”
The argument vanished.
We rushed to the hospital.
His fever had climbed to 103.4.
For two hours, Amy sat beside his bed while nurses worked around him.
I stood near the door, feeling useless.
Caleb finally fell asleep after medication brought the fever down.
Amy didn’t look at me.
Then my phone rang.
My cousin Melissa.
I ignored it.
It rang again.
Then again.
Finally I answered.
“What?”
Melissa was whispering.
“Ryan, Aunt Teresa posted bail.”
I closed my eyes.
“Already?”
“And she’s furious.”
“Not my problem.”
“It might be.”
“What does that mean?”
There was a pause.
“She called Uncle Victor.”
My stomach tightened.
Victor was my father’s older brother.
The second trustee.
“What did she tell him?”
“That you assaulted her, humiliated the family, and illegally removed her from trust property.”
“That’s insane.”
“Ryan…”
Melissa lowered her voice.
“She’s planning to force Amy and Caleb out.”
I looked toward Amy.
She was stroking Caleb’s hair.
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
I walked into the hallway.
“She can’t just do that.”
“If both trustees agree, they can terminate your right to occupy the property.”
I froze.
“How do you know?”
“Because Teresa sent the trust documents to the family group chat.”
My phone vibrated.
A new message.
LEGAL NOTICE OF OCCUPANCY TERMINATION.
My hands went cold.
I opened it.
There it was.
Teresa’s signature.
Victor’s signature.
Effective immediately.
Melissa whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I hung up.
Amy appeared behind me.
“What happened?”
I couldn’t hide the screen.
She read everything.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she handed my phone back.
“Pack our things.”
“Amy—”
“No.”
“We can fight this.”
“I’m not spending another night in a house where your mother believes she owns me.”
“It isn’t that simple.”
“It became simple when she tried to hit me while I was holding our baby.”
Her eyes hardened.
“We’re leaving.”
I nodded.
Then another message arrived.
This one was from Teresa.
Enjoy the hotel.
Amy read it over my shoulder.
Then a second message appeared.
You should also ask Ryan why his father changed the trust three weeks before he died.
Amy looked at me.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
For once, it was true.
My father had never told me he changed anything.
Then Teresa sent one final photograph.
It showed my father sitting at a desk.
Beside him stood Victor.
On the desk was a document.
May you like
At the bottom of the photograph, Teresa had typed six words.
Your wife was never supposed to inherit.
