Chapter 1 - The Eviction Notice
Patricia stopped smiling.
The silence in the kitchen became incredibly heavy and suffocating.
Ethan looked at me as if my high fever had finally driven me completely insane.
He took a step forward and demanded to know what nonsense I was talking about.
I calmly reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a folded copy of the property deed.
I explained that I had purchased this house three years before we even met.
When we got married, Ethan simply assumed his name was added to the paperwork.
He never actually bothered to check the legal documents himself.
Ethan snatched the paper from my hand and scanned the highlighted sections.
His face turned completely pale as he read my name listed as the sole proprietor.
Patricia stood up from the table and insisted that the document had to be a fake.
She yelled that a good wife would never hide something like this from her husband.
I reminded her that a good husband would not hand his sick wife divorce papers over a missed dinner.
I told them they had exactly ten minutes to pack a single bag and leave my property.
Ethan crumpled the paper and aggressively stepped into my personal space.
He threatened to throw me out into the cold night himself if I did not shut up.
Right at that moment, the heavy knock of a police baton hit the front door.
I had already called the local precinct to request a civil standby for a hostile eviction before I came downstairs.
Two uniformed officers stepped into the kitchen and assessed the tense situation.
I handed the lead officer the original certified deed from my safe.
He reviewed the document, looked at Ethan, and ordered him to step away from me.
The officer firmly told Ethan and Patricia that they were currently trespassing on private property.
Patricia began to cry crocodile tears, begging the officers to see reason.
The police were entirely unmoved by her dramatic performance.
They escorted a furious Ethan and a sobbing Patricia to the front door.
Ethan turned back to look at me with eyes full of pure hatred.
He promised me that this was not over and that I would deeply regret humiliating him.
I locked the heavy deadbolt behind them and finally let out a shaking breath.
My entire body ached as the forty-degree fever raged through my system.
I leaned against the wooden door and closed my eyes to rest for just a second.
Suddenly, my cell phone buzzed loudly in my coat pocket.
I pulled it out and saw a text message from an unknown number.
The message contained a photograph of a hidden addendum in my late father's will.
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The highlighted text stated that if I initiated a divorce before my thirtieth birthday, all my assets would legally transfer to my spouse.
My thirtieth birthday was tomorrow.
