Part 5
I arrived home at 7:15 PM.
The catering trucks were gone.
The driveway was clear.
But inside, the house had been transformed.
The living room furniture had been pushed to the walls.
Long tables covered in white linen stood in their place.
Silverware gleamed under the chandeliers.
The smell of roasted garlic and expensive spices filled the air.
Felicia was in the kitchen.
She was giving orders to two staff members.
She looked like she owned the place.
"Move those wine glasses to the center table," she instructed.
Then she saw me walk in.
Her expression became instantly sweet.
"Eleanor! You're back."
"As you can see, Cassandra and I handled the payment."
"No need for you to worry your beautiful head about the invoice."
I didn't answer right away.
I walked over to the counter and set my keys down.
"Where is Derek?" I asked.
"Oh, he's upstairs," she said, waving a hand carelessly.
"He had a headache. The poor thing works too hard."
"I told him to rest so he's fresh for tomorrow."
I nodded.
"I'm going to go check on him."
"Of course," she smiled. "Don't wake him if he's asleep."
I walked up the stairs.
Every step felt heavy.
The manila envelope from Maya was hidden under my coat.
I reached Derek's door and knocked softly.
"Derek?"
"Come in," a muffled voice replied.
I opened the door.
The room was dark, lit only by the screen of his laptop.
Derek was sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, closing the door behind me.
I clicked the lock.
He looked up. His eyes were bloodshot.
"Mom, I don't know what to do."
"What happened?"
He stared at his laptop screen.
"I was looking at my email."
"I found a confirmation message from Caldwell Property Holdings."
"It wasn't sent to my work email. It was sent to an old account I barely use."
"It says I signed a personal guarantee for a business loan."
"A loan for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
He looked terrified.
"Mom, I never signed that."
"I don't even know what that loan is for."
I walked over to him and sat down on the bed.
I laid the manila envelope next to his laptop.
"I know you didn't sign it, Derek."
"But Felicia did."
He stared at the envelope. "What's this?"
"Open it."
His hands shook as he pulled out the documents.
He read the first page.
Then the second.
When he reached the draft of the Quitclaim Deed for my house, he stopped breathing.
"This... this is a transfer of ownership," he whispered.
"She's trying to take the house from you?"
"She's trying to take it from both of us," I said.
"She lied about the deposit, Derek."
"She used your sixty thousand dollars to fund this fake company."
"And tomorrow night, she is using this house to trick an investor into giving her more money."
"And she's using your name to guarantee the debt."
Derek looked at the papers, then at the door, then back at me.
The denial in his eyes was finally dying.
Replacing it was a deep, painful realization.
"She never loved me," he whispered.
His voice broke.
"She just saw an opportunity."
"Yes," I said gently. "She did."
"I'm so sorry, Mom. I brought her into your house."
"I let this happen."
"We don't have time for apologies right now, Derek."
I stood up and looked out the window.
"Tomorrow night is the party."
"She thinks she's in control."
"She thinks we are blind."
Derek wiped his face and stood up next to me.
The fear in his expression was hardening into anger.
"What do we do?" he asked.
"We play along," I said.
"We let her host her perfect event."
"We let the investor arrive."
"And when she thinks she is about to win..."
"...we pull the rug out from under her."
"But I need you to stay strong, Derek. Can you do that?"
He looked at the forged deed on his bed.
"I can," he said.
"Good," I replied. "Now, go downstairs and tell her your headache is gone."
"Smile at her."
May you like
"Kiss her cheek."
"And don't let her see a single thing in your eyes."
