Chapter 2 - The Intruder
I sprinted out of the law office and drove recklessly back to my suburban neighborhood.
That house meant absolutely everything to me.
I had purchased it with my own money, and my late father had spent months restoring it.
I parked three houses down and crept through the back alley toward my property.
The wrought-iron gate was standing wide open, swinging gently in the cold afternoon wind.
I moved cautiously to the kitchen window and peered through the expensive custom blinds.
There were three large men wearing dark moving company uniforms standing in my living room.
They were actively packing my expensive art collection into heavy cardboard boxes.
Standing in the center of the room, holding a clipboard, was a woman I had never seen before.
She was an aggressive real estate agent barking orders at the moving crew.
I pulled my keys from my pocket, unlocked the back door, and marched directly into the kitchen.
"Put my belongings down and get out of my house right now," I demanded loudly.
The movers completely froze, looking nervously at the real estate agent for direction.
The agent glared at me with absolute, unmitigated arrogance.
"You must be the disgruntled former tenant," the agent sneered, flipping through her clipboard.
"I am the legal owner of this property," I fired back, pulling out my cell phone to dial 911.
"Not anymore, sweetheart," the agent laughed coldly.
She pulled a stamped, notarized property deed from her folder and slammed it onto my kitchen counter.
"Your husband legally sold this estate to an anonymous cash buyer early this morning."
"The new owner requested immediate vacancy, and we are simply clearing out the leftover trash."
I stared at the forged signature on the bottom of the deed.
Julian had actually managed to sell my family home right out from under me.
I knew arguing with the arrogant agent would only waste precious time I did not have.
"You have ten minutes to leave before the police arrive for a home invasion," I warned her.
I ignored her shouting and ran straight up the stairs to my master bedroom.
I needed to secure the hidden floorboard safe where I kept my emergency cash and my father's original deeds.
I pushed the heavy oak dresser aside and pulled back the corner of the expensive carpet.
My heart dropped completely into my stomach.
The heavy steel lid of the safe had been violently pried open.
The emergency cash and all of my original legal documents were completely gone.
Resting inside the empty metal box was a single printed photograph.
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It was a picture of me taken at the airport just one hour ago.
Someone had drawn a massive red target directly over my face.
