Chapter 6 - The Secret Behind the Deed
The deed became my obsession.
Because the more I looked at it…
the stranger it became.
I contacted a property attorney.
Her name was Rachel Morgan.
She reviewed the documents for almost an hour.
Then she looked at me.
“Connor, you’re lucky you found this.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because this transfer was designed to look legitimate.”
“What does that mean?”
“Someone was trying to create the appearance that you willingly gave control.”
My stomach tightened.
“So if I hadn’t found it?”
She looked at the paperwork.
“Eventually, they could have challenged your ownership.”
My house.
The place I built.
The place where my son slept.
Almost taken through paperwork.
Not force.
Not violence.
A signature.
A lie.
Rachel continued.
“There is another issue.”
“What?”
She pointed to one section.
“This witness signature.”
I looked.
Mason.
My cousin.
“He signed as a witness.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Mason.
The person who tried to leave with the folder.
The person who knew exactly what was happening.
I called him.
He didn’t answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then my phone received a message.
From Mason.
We need to talk before Teresa destroys everything.
I stared at the screen.
Before Teresa destroys everything?
Not before I expose her.
Not before she gets caught.
Before she destroys everything.
That meant Mason knew something bigger.
I agreed to meet him.
A small coffee shop outside town.
When he arrived, he looked terrified.
Not guilty.
Afraid.
“You don’t understand what she’s capable of.”
I looked at him.
“You helped her steal my house.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Then explain.”
Mason looked around.
“She never told me the whole plan.”
I laughed.
“You signed the documents.”
“I thought it was temporary.”
“Temporary?”
He lowered his voice.
“She said she was protecting you.”
I stared.
“That’s what she told everyone.”
Mason looked down.
Then whispered:
“Connor…”
“What?”
“There is another document.”
My heart tightened.
“What document?”
“The real one.”
“What?”
“The one Teresa doesn’t want you to find.”
He looked at me.
“The one that proves why she wanted your house.”
I leaned forward.
“Where is it?”
Mason hesitated.
Then said:
“She hid it in the place where you would never look.”
“Where?”
His answer made my blood run cold.
“Your childhood home.”
I stared at him.
Because my childhood home belonged to my mother.
The place where she kept everything.
The place where all her secrets were buried.
And suddenly I understood.
The birthday party was never the beginning.
It was the final step.
My mother had been preparing this for years.
May you like
And somewhere inside that old house…
was the truth about why she wanted my life.
