Invited relatives.
Started moving possessions.
And expected me to feel guilty once the decision became difficult to undo.
Everyone at Christmas seemed to be waiting for me to explode.
I didn’t.
I took a sip of my drink.
“Of course.”
Ashley immediately relaxed.
She hugged me.
“I knew you’d understand.”
But I looked over her shoulder at Jason.
He still couldn’t meet my eyes.
Ashley thought I had agreed.
I hadn’t.
I simply refused to have that argument in front of the entire family.
The next morning, I called my property attorney, Daniel Mercer.
I sent him the deed.
Insurance records.
Tax records.
Messages.
Photographs.
Then he asked a question I had not considered.
“Can you still access the alarm system?”
I opened the app.
My code failed.
I tried again.
Nothing.
The security settings had been changed on December ninth—sixteen days before Ashley announced the renovations at Christmas.
Jason admitted Ashley had changed them because contractors needed access.
That was when the situation changed for me.
