My mother hit me so hard I slammed into the wall. My sister-in-law spit in my face, and my brother-in-law stood there laughing while they called me a gold-digger, sure my husband was still deployed and couldn’t stop them. Then the front door opened. He walked in, took one look at the scene, and what he said next wiped every smug expression off their faces. – Page 2

She tried to recover fast. That was her talent.

“Elias,” she said, smiling too hard. “You’re back early. Your mother slipped. I was helping her.”

I didn’t answer her. I crossed the room and lifted my mother off the floor.

She weighed almost nothing.

Her hands clutched my shirt like she thought I might disappear if she blinked.

I sat her down, wrapped a kitchen towel around her shoulders, and finally looked at Sloane.

She stood straighter and pulled a folded document from the counter. “Before you start acting dramatic, remember this.” She waved the paper once. “You gave me legal control of this property. This estate is under my trust authority. I’ve been managing everything while you were gone.”

I took the paper, glanced at it, and handed it back.

“It’s worthless,” I said.

Her smile twitched.

“No,” she said. “It’s binding.”

“It’s conditional.”

That got her attention.

I moved closer. “That document transfers temporary authority if the trustee acts in good faith, protects the resident, and preserves the estate. You abused my mother, tried to force her out, and used my absence to loot the house. You voided it yourself.”

She stared at me. “You’re bluffing.”

I pulled out my phone.

“No,” I said. “I’m done talking.”