Chapter 7 - The Offer They Hid
A buyer's attorney contacted Mara the next day.
His client had been offered an off-market purchase of my house through Braddock Property Partners.
The proposed price was four hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
The agreement assumed Paige would receive title first and immediately resell it.
That two-step transaction explained why my father had insisted on the ten-dollar transfer.
It also explained why Brett kept talking about the baby's future while preparing to cash out the nursery before the baby ever slept there.
I watched Mara read the offer twice.
"The buyer seems to have believed Gene and Brett controlled the property," she said.
"They controlled the stories," I replied.
"Stories don't convey title."
She sent preservation notices to the relevant companies and disputed the recorded lien formally.
The lender acknowledged receiving the dispute but warned that its investigation would require documentation and time.
At home, Paige was browsing paint samples.
"I thought you loved the yellow," I said.
She shrugged.
"Brett says neutral colors sell better."
It was the first time she had said the truth aloud.
I watched her register her mistake.
"I meant someday," she said quickly.
"When?"
"When we outgrow it."
"You haven't even received it."
She stood, one hand pressed to her back.
"Stop interrogating me.
Stress isn't good for the baby."
I stepped aside so she could leave.
I would not let her turn my refusal into a risk to her pregnancy.
Later, Gene called me into the dining room.
On the table was a handwritten budget, numbers squeezed into columns.
"We're in a difficult position," he said.
The words almost sounded like an apology.
Then he turned the paper around.
"If you sign over the house, everyone walks away comfortable.
If you don't, Brett's investors may come after your sister."
"Investors in what?"
"The business."
"You mean the company that borrowed against my property?"
He looked away.
"You're fixated on technicalities."
"A forged signature isn't a technicality."
His jaw worked.
"Your grandfather made you selfish."
I took the budget and placed it back in front of him.
"No," I said.
"He made sure I knew what a signature meant."
That night, Mara called with one more discovery.
The buyer had already paid a nonrefundable deposit to Braddock Property Partners.
May you like
The money had been spent.
