Chapter 2: The Deed on the Dining Table
I didn't immediately go back inside.
I stood beside the front window and watched the party continue.
Brianna was posing beside the enormous birthday cake. Her friends were taking photographs, and Marcus was standing behind her with one arm around her shoulders.
The same man who had watched his daughter throw me out was now smiling for pictures.
I heard laughter through the glass.
Then I saw Robert's black sedan pull into the driveway.
He stepped out carrying a leather briefcase.
Robert had been my parents' attorney before he became my personal lawyer. He was a careful man who rarely raised his voice, but he had a habit of asking questions that made dishonest people uncomfortable.
When I opened the door, he studied my face.
"Vanessa, what happened?""
"My stepdaughter decided I wasn't welcome at the birthday party I paid for.""
Robert looked past me into the living room.
"Is Marcus involved?""
"He watched.""
Robert exhaled.
"Then I assume this isn't simply about a birthday party.""
"No. It's about something I've ignored for too long.""
We entered together.
The music continued playing, but several guests noticed us.
Brianna was holding a champagne glass when she turned around.
Her smile vanished.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me.""
Marcus looked over.
"Vanessa?""
I ignored him and walked toward the dining table.
Robert followed.
Brianna marched across the room, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor.
"I told you to leave!""
I placed my purse on a chair.
"And I heard you.""
"Then why are you back?""
"Because I own this house.""
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Brianna burst out laughing.
"Excuse me?""
I looked at Robert.
"Would you please?""
He opened his briefcase and carefully removed a thick folder.
"Mrs. Williams asked me to bring the property documentation.""
Brianna crossed her arms.
"Property documentation?""
Robert placed the papers on the dining table.
"Yes. The deed, purchase records, and title information.""
Marcus suddenly put down his whiskey.
"Vanessa, what are you doing?""
"Answering a question your daughter has been asking all evening.""
I turned toward Brianna.
"You keep telling everyone this is your father's house. Perhaps you should read the paperwork.""
She grabbed the first document.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Then she stopped.
I watched her expression change.
The smile disappeared.
Her eyebrows drew together, and her lips parted slightly.
"What is this?""
"The deed," Robert answered.
She looked at the name printed beneath the property description.
"Vanessa Williams?""
"That's correct," Robert said.
Brianna looked at Marcus.
"Dad?""
He didn't answer.
"Why does it say her name?""
Marcus walked toward the table.
"Vanessa, we don't need to discuss this in front of everyone.""
I almost smiled.
A few minutes earlier, he hadn't minded discussing my worth in front of forty guests.
"Why not?"" I asked.
"Your daughter seems very interested in who owns the house.""
Brianna shoved the document toward him.
"Dad, you told me this mansion belonged to you!""
Marcus rubbed his jaw.
"Your stepmother purchased the property before we got married.""
"Then why have you always said it was yours?""
"I never said that.""
Brianna stared at him.
"You literally told me you could do whatever you wanted with this house!""
Robert adjusted his glasses.
"Perhaps we should be precise. The property was purchased by Mrs. Williams seven years ago using funds inherited from her parents. The title has remained solely in her name.""
One of Brianna's friends quietly put down her champagne glass.
Another slipped her phone into her handbag.
Brianna's cheeks turned red.
"So what? Dad is married to her! That makes it his house too!""
"Marriage does not automatically change the name on a property deed," Robert replied.
"The legal circumstances matter, and this property was acquired before the marriage.""
Marcus shot him an angry look.
"You're making this unnecessarily complicated.""
Robert remained calm.
"I'm simply explaining the documents.""
Brianna looked at me.
"You think this makes you important?""
"No," I replied.
"I think it makes you wrong.""
She laughed bitterly.
"Fine. Keep your stupid house. Dad can divorce you and take half.""
Marcus immediately turned toward her.
"Brianna, stop talking.""
But she was too angry to notice.
"I mean it! You can't throw my father out of his own home!""
Robert closed the first folder.
"Mrs. Williams, there's another matter we need to discuss.""
I turned toward him.
"What matter?""
He removed a second folder.
"This document was provided by a financial institution after they contacted our office regarding a property verification issue.""
Marcus went completely still.
I noticed it immediately.
His whiskey glass was halfway to his mouth, but he no longer seemed interested in drinking.
"What financial institution?"" I asked.
"Peachtree National Bank.""
Marcus set the glass down.
"Robert, this is a private matter.""
Robert looked at him.
"Then perhaps you should have kept it private before submitting an application using another person's property.""
The room became painfully quiet.
Brianna glanced at her father.
"What application?""
Robert opened the folder and slid a document toward me.
I looked down.
It was an application for a $350,000 home equity loan.
The property listed as collateral was my house.
The borrower was Marcus Williams.
My stomach tightened.
"Marcus?""
He looked away.
I read the next page.
The application contained my full legal name, the property's address, and a signature that looked disturbingly familiar.
My signature.
Or something designed to look like it.
My hands began to shake.
"Why is my signature on this?""
Marcus swallowed.
"Vanessa, I can explain.""
Robert placed another page beside the application.
"The bank flagged the submission because the property owner's signature couldn't be verified.""
"Did you try to borrow money against my house?"" I asked.
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
"It was just an application.""
"Without telling me?""
"I was going to discuss it with you.""
"When?""
He didn't answer.
Brianna suddenly grabbed her boyfriend's arm.
His name was Tyler, and he'd been standing near the fireplace all evening.
She leaned close and whispered urgently.
"Don't say anything.""
Unfortunately for her, I heard every word.
Robert noticed too.
He slowly turned toward them.
"Mrs. Williams, there's one more thing.""
He opened his laptop.
"The bank supplied the identity of the person who submitted the application.""
Then he turned the screen toward me.
A security photograph appeared.
I leaned forward.
My breath caught.
It wasn't Marcus sitting at the bank's document submission desk.
It wasn't some stranger, either.
It was Tyler.
Brianna's boyfriend.
And he was carrying a handbag that I recognized immediately.
My handbag.
The one Brianna had grabbed from the sofa and shoved into my chest before ordering me out.
I looked at the photograph again.
Then I looked at Brianna.
"Why was my handbag at the bank?""
May you like
Her champagne glass slipped from her fingers and shattered against the floor.
Nobody moved to pick up the pieces.
