PART 2
I drove straight from the airport to the coastal house.
When I arrived, movers were carrying Julian and Serena’s furniture through the front doors.
Even the smart lock had been tampered with.
Inside, Serena stood with a clipboard and iced coffee, directing the movers toward the master bedroom.
“What exactly is happening?” I asked.
She turned and gave me a smug smile.
“Oh. Julian said you’d probably be upset.”
“Why is your furniture inside my house?”
She laughed.
“Your house?”
Then she handed me a badly written document.
“Your parents transferred the property to Julian yesterday. We already ended our apartment lease. This is our home now.”
I unfolded the paper.
It was a quitclaim deed supposedly signed by my parents.
Then I looked at her.
“Serena, do you know how property ownership works?”
“It has their signatures.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Her smile faded.
“My parents never owned this house.”
“What?”
“I purchased it through my company, Vance Luxury Living LLC.”
I opened the county property record on my phone.
The title listed one owner.
My company.
“My parents were allowed to live here under a revocable occupancy agreement,” I said. “They had permission to use the house. They never had legal title.”
Serena stared at the screen.
“But Teresa said you gave it to them.”
“I gave them a place to live.”
That was very different.
I called the moving supervisor over and showed him the property record.
“I’m the legal owner. Please remove everything that was brought inside.”
The man looked at the documents and immediately told his crew to start loading the furniture back onto the truck.
Serena panicked.
“You can’t do this! We already gave up our apartment!”
“Then you should probably call your landlord.”
While the movers carried the giant sofa back outside, I contacted my attorney.
I explained the attempted transfer, the damaged lock, and the unauthorized move-in.
Then she gave me another surprise.
“Clara, your mother’s emergency card is still connected to your corporate account. Did you authorize a $12,000 charge at the airport today?”
“No.”
Apparently, my family had used my business account to upgrade themselves to First Class after removing me from the trip I had purchased.
“Flag it,” I said.
“Immediately.”
Thirty minutes later, local authorities arrived.
They reviewed the ownership records and informed Serena she had no right to remain on the property.
The movers finished removing the furniture.
The locks were changed again.
All access codes were reset.
Then I sat alone in the living room and waited.
At four that afternoon, my phone rang.
Mom.
I answered.
Her voice exploded through the speaker.
“CLARA! OUR CRUISE RESERVATIONS ARE GONE!”
In the background, I could hear Dad arguing with someone.
Julian was shouting too.
I remained calm.
“The reservations weren’t removed. My payment method was.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means if none of you paid the thirty-thousand-dollar balance, the cruise line released the rooms.”
Mom began yelling.
“And our card was declined at the airport!”
“That card belongs to my company. The $12,000 upgrade was unauthorized.”
Then Julian grabbed the phone.
“Send us ten thousand dollars right now! We need flights home. Serena says our furniture is sitting outside!”
I almost laughed.
“Why would I send money to someone who gave away my ticket?”
“She’s Serena’s sister!”
“And I’m apparently not family.”
Silence.
Then I said:
“My bank account is officially closed to all of you.”
