Chapter 2: The Signature That Destroyed Everything
For three seconds, nobody breathed.
Not me.
Not my parents.
Not Ryan.
Even Kelsey stopped pretending she was angry and started looking nervous.
“Miranda,” I said slowly, “send me the footage.””
“I already did.””
My phone buzzed.
A video notification appeared.
I didn’t open it immediately.
Because deep down, I already knew what I was going to see.
My mother had always been the person who told me she believed in me.
The person who hugged me when I got my first promotion.
The person who cried when I told her I bought the house.
At least, I thought she was.
I looked at her.
“Mom.””
She wiped her hands on her sweater.
“Jenna, there’s an explanation.””
“Then explain.””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Dad stepped in.
“You’re making a mistake by listening to outsiders.””
I stared at him.
“An attorney who handled my purchase is an outsider?””
He looked away.
That was answer enough.
I opened the video.
The room disappeared.
On my screen was the title company office.
The date was six days earlier.
I watched the front door open.
My mother walked inside.
My heart sank.
She was wearing the blue jacket I bought her last Christmas.
She sat across from the closing agent.
Then she pulled out a folder.
My folder.
The same documents that were supposed to be handled privately.
The same documents I had signed.
But the worst part wasn’t seeing her there.
It was hearing her voice.
“I’m here to make changes before my daughter finalizes everything.””
I stopped the video.
My hands were shaking.
“Make changes?””
Mom looked terrified.
“Jenna, listen.””
“No.””
My voice surprised everyone.
“No, you listen.””
I held up the phone.
“You went to my closing appointment.””
She started crying.
“I was trying to help.””
“Help who?””
Silence.
Then Ryan spoke.
“Jenna, maybe you’re misunderstanding.””
I turned toward him.
“Were you there?””
His face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
“You were there.””
He looked down.
Kelsey stepped back.
“Ryan?””
He rubbed his forehead.
“Mom said she had everything under control.””
I laughed.
A painful, empty laugh.
“So you knew?””
“No.””
“Yes.””
The word came from Kelsey.
Everyone looked at her.
She looked angry.
Not at me.
At Ryan.
“You told me your parents bought this place for us.””
Ryan froze.
“Kelsey…”
“You told me Jenna didn’t want the house because she was moving away.””
My stomach tightened.
Moving away?
I had never said that.
Not once.
Kelsey looked at me.
“She lied to me too?””
Nobody answered.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Because the truth was finally coming out.
My family hadn’t made one mistake.
They had built an entire lie.
I walked upstairs.
Every room felt different now.
The nursery Kelsey had planned.
The bedroom Ryan had claimed.
The office where I imagined working from home.
They had already erased me from my own dream.
When I came back downstairs, Miranda was still on speaker.
“Jenna,” she said, “there’s something else you need to know.””
I looked at the phone.
“What?””
“The person who visited the title company didn’t just pretend to be you.””
My heart started racing.
“What do you mean?””
“There was a second document.””
Dad immediately turned pale.
“Miranda, stop.””
I looked at him.
“What document?””
Miranda continued.
“A transfer agreement.””
The room went completely silent.
“A document stating that you were voluntarily giving ownership rights to another person.””
My fingers went numb.
“To who?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at my mother.
Then Ryan.
Then Kelsey.
Finally, Miranda said:
“Jenna… the agreement was prepared to transfer the house into Ryan Hart’s name.””
Ryan closed his eyes.
Kelsey covered her mouth.
And my father whispered the words that confirmed everything.
“We were going to fix it later.””
I stared at him.
“Later?””
He couldn’t look at me.
“You were supposed to understand.””
Understand.
That was always what they said when they wanted me to accept something unfair.
I walked toward the front door.
“Everyone leaves.””
Mom started crying.
“Jenna, please.””
“No.””
I opened the door.
“You don’t get to steal something from me and call it family.””
Ryan stepped forward.
“Where are we supposed to go?””
I looked at him.
For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel guilty.
“I don’t know.””
Then my phone buzzed again.
A new message from Miranda.
One sentence.
One photo.
May you like
And a name I never expected to see.
*Jenna, I found who helped your mother fake your identity.*
