The meeting was set for ten the next morning. Maya refused to let us treat it like a family conversation. Her investigator, Anthony, would be nearby.
She would attend with me. Liam would not. That last part started an argument.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Mom.”
“No.”
“It’s my house too.”
“Legally, it’s mine.”
His face tightened.
I hated using that sentence. So I added, “And that means I get to protect you from walking into a room with people who have already tracked where you sleep.”
He looked away. Maya spoke before he could answer.
“Liam, your notebook is evidence. You are also a witness. You do not need to be present at an informal meeting.” “What if Dad lies?”
“He probably will.”
Liam looked at her. She did not soften the wording. “That is why we document.”
I left the original notebook in Maya’s office safe.
We brought a copy. At 9:52, we pulled onto the beach-house street. David’s car was already there.
So was Richard’s. Chloe’s SUV sat in the driveway. The front door opened before we reached the porch.
David stepped outside. He looked almost exactly as he had the last time I saw him in person.
Expensive polo. Watch.
Carefully casual. He smiled at Maya. “Who’s this?”
“My attorney.”
The smile disappeared.
“I thought this was family.”
“It stopped being family-only when someone recorded a deed with my forged signature.”
Chloe appeared behind him. Richard followed. Helen stayed inside. David glanced toward the street.
“Where’s Liam?”
“Safe.”
“I want to see him.”
“He doesn’t want to see you.”
“That’s because you’re feeding his paranoia.”
Maya stepped forward. “Mr.
Mercer, my client is here to discuss possession and title. If you want to discuss Liam’s mental health, you can do that through appropriate channels.” David laughed.
“You lawyers love making everything dramatic.”
I almost admired the confidence. Then I remembered the loan.
“One hundred eighty thousand dollars.”
His face changed. Only slightly. But enough.
Richard spoke first.
“That money has nothing to do with you.”
I looked at him. “It was borrowed against my house.”
“It’s not your house.”
Maya took out a certified copy of my original deed. Then the disputed transfer. Then Marissa Cole’s written denial.
“Mr. Mercer, the transfer document claims Sarah appeared personally before a notary who says she never met Sarah and whose seal had already been reported stolen.”
Richard’s face went gray. David looked at him.
Not at us. That was the first fracture. Chloe stepped closer. “What stolen seal?”
Nobody answered her. She looked at David. “You said Sarah signed it.”
“She did.”
Maya did not raise her voice.
“My client was in Vancouver on the date the deed claims she appeared in person in North Carolina.”
David’s jaw tightened. “Then maybe the date is wrong.” I stared at him. He had moved from she signed it to maybe the date is wrong in less than thirty seconds.
Maya noticed too.
“Who prepared the deed?”
David looked toward Richard. Richard said, “A service.” “What service?”
“I don’t remember.”
Maya smiled without humor. “That answer will not age well.” Chloe’s face had lost color.
“David, what did you do?”
He turned on her.
“Nothing.”
“You told me the property had been transferred.”
“It was.”
“Legally?”
“Don’t start.”
She took a step back. That small movement mattered. David looked at me again.
“Where’s the notebook?”
I almost laughed. Not how is Liam. Not is he eating. Not where is he staying. The notebook.
“Why do you want it?”
“It belongs to Liam.”
“He gave it to me.”
“You’re using it to build some conspiracy.”
“No.”
I looked directly at him. “He used it to record what happened.” David’s expression hardened.
“You have no idea what he’s been like.”
“Then tell me.”
“He started digging into things he didn’t understand.”
“The deed?”
“Business.”
“The loan?”
Richard interrupted.
“This isn’t your concern.”
Maya turned to him.
“It is secured by disputed property. It is very much her concern.” Helen finally appeared in the doorway. “Can we all stop?”
Her voice shook. She looked at me. “Sarah, nobody wanted Liam hurt.”
The sentence made every hair on my arms rise.
“Hurt?”
She froze. “I mean upset.”
“No.”
I stepped closer. “You said hurt.” Helen looked toward Richard.
He closed his eyes. Chloe stared at her parents.
“What is going on?”
The family structure on the porch changed in real time. Chloe had known something. Not everything. Helen had known something.
Maybe more.
Richard and David knew enough to be afraid of documents. Maya asked, “Mrs.
Mercer, did you know Liam was being followed?” Helen shook her head.
Too quickly. Richard said, “We’re done.” He turned toward the door.
Maya handed him a packet.
“No. You’ve been served.”
He stopped. “What?”
“Notice of disputed title, demand to preserve evidence, and notice that my client revokes any permission she may be alleged to have granted for occupancy.”
David snatched the papers. “This is worthless.” “Then give it to your lawyer.”
“We don’t need one.”
Maya looked at him.
“You do.”
That sentence landed.
David turned toward me. “You’re going to destroy Liam’s future over a house.” There it was. Blame redirected.
“My son is sleeping on a mattress in a rundown apartment because people in his family changed the locks on the home I bought for him.”
“He left voluntarily.”
“After being followed.”
“He imagined that.”
Maya held up a printed transcript of Derek Walsh’s call. “Mr. Walsh confirmed he conducted mobile surveillance on Liam and reported his location to a client.” David went silent.
Chloe looked at him. “You hired Derek?” “No.”
She laughed once.
“You used him during my divorce.”
“That doesn’t mean I hired him.”
“Who did?”
No one answered. Then Chloe did something I did not expect. She turned to me. “I want my kids out of here.”
David stared at her.
“What?”
“I’m not staying in a house tied to forged paperwork.”
“It’s not forged.”
“You just said the date might be wrong.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Chloe backed toward the doorway.
“I’m packing.”
Richard moved toward her.
“Chloe.”
“No.”
She looked at her father.
“You told me Sarah agreed.”
Helen began crying. I did not feel satisfaction. Mostly I felt sick.
Because the lie had not only displaced Liam. It had recruited an entire family around it. Chloe disappeared inside.
David lowered his voice.
“Sarah, listen to me.”
“No.”
“You don’t know the whole story.”
“Then give it to my lawyer.”
“We can fix this privately.”
“No.”
His face tightened.
“What do you want?”
The question sounded almost offended.
I thought about Liam’s mattress. The stolen seal. The loan. The white sedan.
The notebook. “I want the truth.” He smiled without humor.
“You always did love making things harder.”
Then his phone buzzed. He looked at the screen. His face changed.
Maya noticed.
“What happened?”
He put the phone away. “Nothing.”
Seconds later, Anthony stepped out from across the street.
“Maya.”
His tone was urgent. He held up his own phone.
“The lender just filed an emergency notice.”
My stomach tightened. “What notice?” Anthony looked at me.
“The loan is in default.”
The beach house was now at risk of foreclosure.
