Chapter 7: The Agreement Nobody Saw
The attorney’s office felt smaller after I heard my father’s name.
Marcus Okafor.
The man who taught me how to ride a bicycle.
The man who held my hand at my mother’s funeral.
The man who promised me he would always protect me.
And now his name was sitting inside a secret my mother had hidden for decades.
I placed the letter on the desk.
“Show me the agreement.””
Harold Bennett looked at me carefully.
“Jasmine, before you see it, you need to understand something.””
“I don’t want another warning.””
My voice surprised even me.
“I don’t want another person telling me the truth will hurt me. I already know that.””
Terrell reached for my hand.
I let him.
Harold nodded slowly.
“Your mother was not someone who trusted easily. But she trusted your father.””
I looked down.
“That makes this worse.””
“Yes.””
The attorney opened a locked drawer.
From inside, he removed a thin brown envelope.
“The second agreement.””
He placed it in front of me.
I stared at it.
A simple envelope.
A simple piece of paper.
Yet somehow, it had destroyed the peace of three families.
I opened it.
The first page contained signatures.
Names.
Dates.
Then I saw it.
My mother’s name.
My father’s name.
And Delphine’s.
“What is this?””
Harold folded his hands.
“This agreement was created when your mother and Marcus invested in the property with Terrell’s grandfather.””
I looked at Terrell.
“So my parents were partners with his family?””
“Yes.””
Terrell looked shocked too.
“I thought my grandfather owned everything.””
Harold shook his head.
“That is what people were told.””
I continued reading.
The agreement explained that my mother had contributed money and planning to restore the old property.
She was not just a guest in the story.
She was one of the people who built it.
My hands tightened.
“Then why did Delphine act like my family had no connection?””
Harold looked at the document.
“Because after your mother died, things changed.””
“What things?””
He took a breath.
“Marcus transferred his rights.””
I froze.
“To who?””
Harold looked at me.
“Delphine.””
The room went silent.
Terrell stood immediately.
“My mother?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Harold’s expression became heavy.
“Because Marcus believed he was protecting Jasmine.””
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
“Protecting me?””
I looked at the agreement.
“He gave away my mother’s work.””
“He thought he was preventing a bigger conflict.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“He made a choice without asking me.””
Terrell sat back down.
He understood.
Because he had done something similar.
Everyone kept making decisions around me.
Nobody trusted me enough to stand beside me.
Harold pointed at another section.
“There is one more important detail.””
I looked closer.
A condition.
My eyes moved across the words.
“What does this mean?””
Harold answered.
“Your mother added a protection clause.””
“What protection?””
“If Delphine ever attempted to take full control of the property, the rights would automatically return to you.””
I looked up.
“To me?””
“Yes.””
My heart raced.
“So the house was never really hers.””
“Correct.””
Terrell whispered,
“That’s why she was desperate.””
Harold nodded.
“She needed the transfer stopped before noon today.””
I looked at the clock.
12:08.
My stomach dropped.
“The appointment already passed.””
Harold smiled slightly.
“No.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“The appointment was delayed.””
“Why?””
He looked toward Terrell.
“Because someone called my office this morning and tried to cancel it.””
Terrell’s expression changed.
“Who?””
Harold didn’t answer.
He simply turned his computer screen around.
A name appeared on the appointment record.
My breath caught.
Because the person who tried to cancel the transfer was not Delphine.
May you like
It was someone else.
Someone who knew exactly where I would be today.
