“I know.”
I studied her.
“Did you know he was doing it?”
“No.”
“Did you know he contacted Nora about a trust?”
“He told me the trust was your idea.”
There it was.
Another lie.
I sat down.
Melissa did too.
“What else did he tell you?”
She hesitated.
“That you wanted the house to become a family investment.”
“No.”
“That you were thinking of renting it during the summer.”
“No.”
“That eventually he would manage your finances.”
“No.”
Her eyes closed briefly.
“God.”
I should have felt vindicated.
Instead, I felt sick.
“What did he mean when he told you he helped pay for the house?”
Melissa looked confused.
“I never said that.”
“You texted me those exact words.”
Her face changed.
Then she looked away.
“That was what he told me after the meeting.”
“He told you today?”
“Yes.”
“He said he had helped structure the purchase and that some of what he’d done for you over the years had made the house possible.”
I almost laughed again.
“What exactly has Brandon done financially for me?”
Melissa’s silence answered.
“I paid for his education.
I helped pay for your wedding.
I paid seventy-five thousand dollars toward your down payment.
I covered part of his failed business debt.”
“I know.”
“Then explain how he helped finance my house.”
“I can’t.”
We sat in silence.
Finally Melissa said, “My parents didn’t know.”
“Know what?”
“That you hadn’t invited us.”
I looked at her sharply.
“They thought this weekend was your idea.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s what Brandon told us.”
“And the bedroom chart?”
Her cheeks reddened.
“That was me.”
At least she owned it.
“I thought you’d told Brandon to organize everyone.
He told me your only concern was logistics.”
“So you assigned my bedroom to your parents.”
“Yes.”
“Without asking me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked miserable.
“Because I thought this was going to be a family-use property.”
“And that made my bedroom available?”
“When you say it like that—”
“How else should I say it?”
She had no answer.
After a moment, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I believed she was sorry.
I did not yet know whether she was sorry for hurting me or for discovering Brandon had lied to her.
Those are different kinds of remorse.
“Where is Brandon?”
“At the hotel.”
“Does he know you’re here?”
“No.”
“Why did you come?”
Her eyes filled.
“Because I needed to know if he lied about everything.”
I looked at her.
Then I asked the question that had been growing inside me since Nora showed me the rental emails.
“Melissa, has Brandon been telling people he owns part of this house?”
She wiped beneath one eye.
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“He’s been telling people it’s basically his inheritance.”
I felt something inside me go cold.
“How long?”
“Since you made the offer.”
Before closing.
Before the deed.
Before the house was mine.
Brandon had already been claiming the future.
Melissa reached into her purse.
“There’s something else.”
She took out her phone.
“I didn’t understand it before.”
She opened a text thread and turned the screen toward me.
It was a conversation between her and Brandon from three weeks earlier.
Melissa had asked:
Are you sure your mom is okay with us using the house whenever?
Brandon had replied:
She will be. Once everything is set up, she won’t want to deal with details.
Melissa:
What if she changes her mind?
Brandon:
She won’t. And if she gets difficult, I’ll handle it.
My eyes stopped there.
If she gets difficult.
I handed the phone back.
Melissa scrolled farther.
“There’s one more.”
She showed me another message.
Once the paperwork is in place, she can’t keep changing things every time she gets emotional.
I stared at the screen.
“What paperwork?”
Melissa shook her head.
“I thought he meant the trust.”
My pulse began pounding.
“When did he send that?”
“Four days ago.”
Before the false authorization had been submitted.
I stood.
Melissa stood too.
“Eleanor?”
I was already reaching for my phone.
I called Nora.
She answered on the second ring.
“Nora, I need you to check something.”
“What?”
“Brandon told Melissa that once ‘the paperwork’ was in place, I wouldn’t be able to keep changing things.”
Nora went silent.
Then she asked, “When?”
“Four days ago.”
“Can Melissa preserve that message?”
“Yes.”
Melissa nodded.
Nora’s voice sharpened.
“I want a copy immediately.”
“What do you think he meant?”
“I don’t know.”
“But?”
“But the authorization we found would not prevent you from changing anything.
It could be revoked at any time.”
I looked at Melissa.
“So he may have meant something else.”
“That is what concerns me.”
My skin prickled.
“What else could he have been trying to put in place?”
“I’m going to find out.”
We ended the call.
Melissa stood near the doorway, pale.
“I really am sorry.”
I believed her more now.
But forgiveness was not the same as access.
“I think you should go.”
She nodded.
At the door, she stopped.
“Eleanor?”
“Yes?”
“Brandon has a folder.”
My heart seemed to pause.
“What kind of folder?”
“Gray.
He keeps it in his desk at home.
He started locking the desk about a month ago.”
“What’s in it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why are you telling me?”
“Because two weeks ago I asked him what it was.”
She swallowed.
“He said it was paperwork for your estate.”
The ocean roared behind the house.
I stared at my daughter-in-law.
“My estate?”
Melissa nodded.
“And then he told me not to worry because by the time you understood why he’d done it, everything would already be easier for everyone.”
Chapter 4: THE LIFE HE HAD PLANNED FOR ME
I did not sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Brandon at different ages.
Eight, carrying a plastic shovel toward the ocean.
Seventeen, asking for my car keys.
Twenty-two, wearing a graduation gown.
Thirty-five, dancing with me at his wedding.
And now forty-one, apparently keeping a locked folder containing paperwork about my estate.
Popular Posts
→- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Recently Viewed
Stories you read recently will appear here.
