The beach house Kenneth enjoyed.
The car he drove.
The company position he inherited.
And this house, where he had just told me I was no longer welcome as his mother.
All three property records carried my name.
Or so I believed.
Kenneth stormed inside before I could finish explaining.
“Mom, what did you do?” he demanded. “You called the lawyer and threatened to take everything away?”
“You made your decision,” I said. “I’m simply honoring it.”
Brenda stepped forward.
“You can’t evict your own son.”
I looked at her.
“You already evicted me from your family.”
Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
Then Mr. Abernathy placed a sealed envelope on the table.
“I should have warned you before tonight,” he said.
My fingers stopped above it.
“What is that?”
He glanced at Kenneth, then at Brenda.
“The original ownership transfer.”
Kenneth suddenly stopped shouting.
That was when I noticed something strange.
His anger was gone.
In its place was terror.
I broke the seal and unfolded the first page.
At the bottom was a signature that looked exactly like mine.
But beneath it was a date from tomorrow.
And one sentence that made the room turn cold:
“Upon the owner’s death, all property transfers to Kenneth Gable.”
I looked up slowly.
