Chapter 3

The next morning, I went straight to the county records office to report my lost property deed and get a duplicate issued.

My mother had kept the original deed in her safe, claiming she was just "holding onto it so I wouldn't make reckless financial choices."

Now I knew the truth: she was terrified I’d sell it before she could hand it over for Tyler’s wedding.

The clerk looked at my pale, hollow face.

"Are you sure you want to re-issue it, ma'am? Once the new deed is recorded, the old one is legally void."

"I’m positive."

Leaving the government office, I drove straight to my condo.

I called a local locksmith.

"Can you install a top-of-the-line smart lock? Facial recognition and keypad only."

The locksmith worked fast, finishing the job in under half an hour.

I pushed the door open, and the sight inside made my blood boil.

The living room was completely trashed. Tyler's dirty, smelly socks were strewn across my sofa.

Greasy takeout boxes and half-eaten pizza littered the coffee table.

My favorite wooden bookshelf had been shoved onto the balcony, piled high with junk.

From the master bedroom, high-pitched giggles echoed out.

I kicked the door open.

Tyler was lounging on my bed, his arm wrapped around a heavily made-up girl.

Seeing me, Tyler jumped, nearly rolling off the mattress.

"Serena?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Who said you could barge in here?!"

"Get the hell out of my bedroom," I said, my voice dead and calm.

Tyler regained his smug confidence, sneering at me:

"You telling me to get out? Aunt Helen said this place belongs to me now! You're the one who needs to get lost!"

The girl rolled her eyes, chiming in nastily:

"Seriously, who even are you? You look like a bum off the street. Don't go dirtying up our new home."

I stared at the two of them, and suddenly, a cold laugh escaped my lips:

"Tyler, did your tiny brain forget who's paying the mortgage on this place every month?"

"So what?! You're just a girl! You're going to get married off eventually anyway. You have to give this place to me whether you like it or not!"

His arrogant, entitled tone was the spitting image of my mother's.

In that split second, a wild, absurd suspicion took root in my mind.

I didn't waste another breath. I grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand and splashed it straight into their faces.

"Get out. Don't make me say it a third time."

Tyler shrieked as he leaped off the bed, jabbing a furious finger at my face.

"You're crazy, Serena! I'm calling Aunt Helen! She's gonna beat the hell out of you!"

He dragged his drenched girlfriend behind him, cursing my name as they slammed the front door.

I stripped the bedsheets and threw them straight down the trash chute, then scrubbed the entire apartment from top to bottom.

By the time I finished and trudged back to my rental, it was past midnight.

My phone started buzzing.

It was my father. He let out a heavy sigh over the line:

"Serena... your mom's heart condition flared up because of you. Come home right now and apologize to her."

My dad was a timid, passive man his whole life—which really just meant he had no backbone and did whatever my mom told him to do.

"Dad, is it really her heart? Or is she just having a heart attack over Tyler's missing car down payment?"

"How can you talk like that?! Tyler is your brother—"

"He's my cousin, not my brother! I bought this condo with my own money. What right does he have to live there?!"

My dad went silent for a long moment before muttering:

"Your Uncle Frank promised us... if we give the place to Tyler, he'll take full care of us when we get old."

I scoffed. "Tyler doesn't even take care of his own father, and you expect him to support you two? Dad, have you completely lost your mind?"

"Why are you being so stubborn?! What does a woman need all that money and property for anyway? Once you marry a nice man, you'll have everything you need!"

I hung up on him.

I had been fed that exact same toxic garbage for over twenty years.

In their eyes, I wasn't their daughter. I was just an asset waiting to be liquidated.

Sitting on my windowsill, my mind was entirely made up:

Since you all want this condo so badly, I'll sell it. Let's see you scheme over thin air.

I immediately messaged a real estate agent: "I want to list my condo. Below market value. Cash buyers only. Urgent sale."

The agent replied in shock: "Condos in that district sell like hotcakes! Are you sure you want to list it so cheap?"

"I'm sure. As fast as humanly possible."

Before they could figure out their next move, I was going to burn every bridge behind me.