Chapter 2 - The Intruder
I sat in my cold car, staring in pure disbelief at my phone screen.
The live security feed clearly showed a woman rummaging through my expensive jewelry box.
It was Brent’s younger sister, Karen.
She was casually trying on my diamond necklaces and taking selfies in my full-length mirror.
My hands shook with a mixture of postpartum exhaustion and blinding rage.
Brent had deliberately locked his recovering wife and newborn baby out in a storm.
Then he had invited his greedy sister to play dress-up in my private sanctuary.
Headlights flashed across my windshield as Molly’s SUV aggressively pulled into the driveway.
My sister threw her car into park and leaped out into the pouring rain.
She rushed over to my door and helped me carefully transfer a sleeping Ivy into her warm vehicle.
"I am going to literally kill him," Molly growled as she turned the heater on high.
"He gave Karen the new code," I said, showing her the live security footage.
Molly stared at the screen, her jaw clenching so hard I thought her teeth might shatter.
"We are calling the police right now to report a break-in," Molly declared.
"No," I replied, my mind already calculating five steps ahead.
"If we call the cops, Brent will just claim he gave her permission as her brother."
"The police will call it a civil domestic dispute and refuse to physically remove her."
Molly aggressively merged onto the highway, gripping the steering wheel tight.
"So we are just going to let that parasite sleep in your expensive bed?"
"Only for a very short time," I answered calmly.
My phone buzzed in my lap with a new message from Jennifer.
The cash buyer was thrilled that I was finally willing to negotiate.
He was offering twenty percent over the current market value.
There was only one massive catch hidden in the email.
I read the buyer's strict condition out loud to Molly.
"The buyer requires full vacant possession of the property within forty-eight hours."
Molly quickly glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
"Forty-eight hours is completely impossible if Karen refuses to leave."
"You legally have to give a squatter or a tenant a formal eviction notice."
I stared out the rain-streaked window as we drove toward downtown Boulder.
"Karen is not a legal tenant," I reminded my sister.
"She has no established residency, no mail delivered there, and no bills in her name."
"I just need to find a way to get her out of the house voluntarily."
"If she walks out the front door of her own free will, I can lock the system down remotely."
Molly smiled a wicked, dangerous smile.
"How exactly do we trick her into leaving?"
I thought about Karen's incredibly predictable and shallow personality.
"We use her own vanity against her," I stated confidently.
I opened a fake social media account I had created years ago for business research.
I quickly navigated to a local high-end boutique page that Karen was absolutely obsessed with.
I typed out a direct message posing as the boutique manager, offering an exclusive midnight VIP shopping event with massive discounts.
I hit send and waited with bated breath for her inevitable response.
Ten minutes later, the security camera in my garage sent a motion alert to my phone.
Karen was practically sprinting toward her car, clutching her purse with eager excitement.
"She took the bait," I told Molly, watching the garage door open on the screen.
"As soon as she drives away, I am changing the master security code remotely."
We watched the digital feed as Karen’s taillights disappeared down my long driveway.
I quickly typed a complex new password into the master control app.
I hit enter, successfully locking Brent’s entire family out of my property forever.
"It is done," I sighed in relief.
Molly cheered loudly, but my celebration was instantly cut short.
My phone rang with an incoming FaceTime call from Brent.
I hesitated for a second before answering the call.
Brent was smiling broadly, sitting on a luxurious hotel balcony in Miami.
May you like
"Hey honey," Brent said, his voice dripping with fake affection.
"I just wanted to let you know I secured a massive financial loan against our beautiful house."
