Chapter 4 - The Eavesdropper
I didn't confront Robert immediately. Information is power, and I needed to know exactly what I was up against before I played my next card. I spent the next two days going to work as usual, maintaining a polite, icy distance. Madison and Evan treated the house like a luxury hotel. They left wet towels on the floor. They ate the expensive groceries I had bought for myself. They blasted the television past midnight. Every time I reminded them of the house rules, Robert stepped in to defend them, begging for "patience." On Thursday afternoon, I came home early from work. My car had been acting up, so I took an Uber. Because my car wasn't in the driveway, the house looked empty. I unlocked the front door quietly and stepped into the foyer. I could hear voices coming from the living room. It was Madison and Evan. "...can't keep pretending I like her," Madison was saying, her voice sharp and whiny. "You have to," Evan replied. "Just for another few weeks. Once we hit the thirty-day mark, we establish tenancy." I froze. My heart started hammering against my ribs. Tenancy. Squatter's rights. "I still don't get why Dad can't just put my name on the deed," Madison complained. "Because she's on it, you idiot," Evan said. "We have to make her want to leave. If we make her miserable enough, she'll move out. Your dad is soft. Once she's gone, we convince him to refinance, pull the cash out to pay off our debts, and we take over." "What if she kicks us out before the thirty days?" "She won't. Your dad won't let her. And if she tries to change the locks, we have the emergency key." "Where is it?" "Under the fake rock by the rhododendron bush. Dad told me about it yesterday." I stopped breathing. Robert. My husband, the man I had trusted, had given them the security bypass to our home. They weren't here to recover. They were here to steal my house. I silently backed out of the front door, closed it without making a sound, and walked down the street. My hands were shaking, but my mind was perfectly clear. The deadline wasn't just Friday anymore. The deadline was now.
