Chapter 2 - The House of Broken Glass
The silence that fell over the room was deafening. Daniel lunged forward, snatching the papers from the counter with trembling hands. His eyes raced across the paragraphs, his face rapidly draining of color until he looked as sick as a ghost.
""You told me this was a family agreement,"" Daniel whispered, turning to look at Lydia. His voice cracked with genuine humiliation. ""You told me Mara felt terrible about not being around, and that since she was making partner at her law firm, she wanted to help us get back on our feet without making it feel like charity! You said she had her firm's notary stamp it!""
""Daniel, shut up and let me handle this,"" Lydia snapped frantically, stepping toward him to grab the papers back, but Daniel jerked them out of her reach.
""Is this my signature?"" I asked, pointing to the crooked, clumsy scrawl at the bottom of the power of attorney document. ""Because anyone with two working eyes can see that whoever signed this didn't even know I stopped using my middle initial on legal documents nine years ago. Not to mention, Lydia, you used a notary public from Multnomah County dated two weeks ago, on a Tuesday when I was in federal district court in San Francisco.""
Leah walked in from the balcony, having left the boys outside looking at the ducks. Her face was pale, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. ""Daniel... what is going on? Did Mara not know about this?""
""She didn't know anything,"" Daniel choked out, sinking down onto one of the unpacked moving boxes. He buried his face in his hands. ""Oh God. Leah... she didn't know anything. We gave up our rental lease. Our moving truck is arriving at four o'clock today.""
""What?!"" Leah gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. ""Lydia, you swore to us that Mara gave you the spare keys and told you to handle the transition because she was too busy with work!""
""She SHOULD have!"" Lydia shrieked, finally dropping every shred of professional composure. Her face contorted into an ugly, bitter sneer. ""Look at her! Look at this apartment! She has custom Italian leather couches, Viking appliances, and a private dock slip! And now she walks in here with some designer husband and two spoiled brats like she’s the queen of the world! Do you know how hard Daniel has had it? Do you know how much Mom worries about him? While you were hoarding your money in Seattle, Daniel was working seventy-hour weeks! It’s not fair that you have everything while the rest of this family struggles to pay rent!""
""I worked eighty-hour weeks for ten years to pay off my law school loans, buy this home, and build my life!"" I fired back, my anger finally breaking through my professional restraint. ""You called me impractical! You laughed when I bought this place, Lydia! You told Mom at Thanksgiving that I was overleveraged and would be bankrupt within three years! You spent my entire twenties treating me like a charity case, and now that my investment has tripled in value, you forge my name to steal it?""
""Nobody was stealing anything!"" Lydia cried. ""It was staying in the family!""
""No,"" Owen said, his calm voice cutting through her screeching like a razor. ""You weren't keeping it in the family, Lydia. You were using Daniel as a straw buyer.""
Everyone stopped. Lydia froze, her eyes widening in sheer terror.
Owen pointed to paragraph 14b on the purchase option rider that Daniel was holding. ""My wife is an attorney, Lydia, but I run a commercial structural firm. I read municipal land deals every single day. Clause 14b says that within thirty days of the title transferring to Daniel, the property must be liquidated through your brokerage firm, with a fifty-percent management fee going directly to Lydia Vance Realty LLC.""
Daniel lifted his head, staring at the page. ""You... you were going to make me sell it?""
May you like
""Daniel, don't listen to him—""
""You told me this was my forever home for the kids!"" Daniel roared, jumping to his feet, the papers tearing in his shaking hands. ""You told me you were helping me protect my boys! But you were just using my eviction to flip Mara's condo and pocket an eight-hundred-thousand-dollar payout!""
