Chapter 4 - The Missing Folder
Claire searched the study after midnight while Ava slept in a carrier against her chest.
One folder was missing.
Daniel had kept copies of the original purchase documents in a blue binder. Claire remembered seeing it months earlier when they refinanced the kitchen renovation.
Now it was gone.
She checked the closet, cabinets, garage boxes, and desk shelves.
Nothing.
The next morning, Tyler called.
He sounded unusually cheerful.
“Mom says you’re upset. I can come over and help organize Daniel’s papers.”
“No.”
A pause.
“You don’t even know what you’re looking at.”
“No, Tyler.”
His voice hardened. “You always think you’re better than us.”
Claire ended the call.
Marlene arrived that afternoon and reviewed the documents still in the drawer. She explained that the house had been transferred into the trust. Ava was the beneficiary. Claire was the protected resident and guardian. No one else had ownership rights.
“Could they sell it?” Claire asked.
“Not legally.”
The answer should have calmed her.
Instead, the word legally stayed in her mind.
Marlene noticed.
“People who feel entitled do not always care what is legal,” she said. “We should prepare for what they may try.”
May you like
Together, they changed the locks, secured the financial accounts, and placed a fraud alert on Claire’s identity.
For the first time since the funeral, Claire felt less alone.
