Chapter 4 - The Web of Lies
The next morning, I let Delilah sleep in. I needed to understand exactly how deep Evan and Margaret’s delusion ran. I logged onto the local real estate listings website, searching the address of my property.
Sure enough, there it was. “Beautiful 3-bedroom family home, newly renovated, motivated seller! Cash offers preferred.”
They had listed it for $350,000. They had even taken photos. In the background of one of the kitchen photos, I could see Margaret’s ugly floral tea set sitting on the counter I had paid for. The audacity was staggering.
I scrolled down to see the contact information. It wasn't listed through a legitimate real estate agency. It was listed as "For Sale By Owner," with Evan's phone number attached. They were trying to bypass the legal checks and balances of a real estate agent who would have immediately pulled the title records.
Evan was banking on finding a naive, all-cash buyer who wouldn't do a thorough title search until it was too late, hoping he could collect an earnest money deposit and vanish. It was literal fraud.
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I picked up my phone and dialed the number of Marcus Sterling, a ruthless real estate attorney who owed me a favor from my days working at the county clerk's office.
"Marcus," I said when he answered. "I need you to help me set a trap. And I need it to be airtight."
