Chapter 4 - Apologize Inside the Home He Wanted
Caleb returned from work early that afternoon wearing a white dress shirt and navy trousers, his jaw set in the same hard line Patricia used when someone challenged her authority.
Patricia came with him.
So did Caleb’s cousin, Maren, a quiet woman in her late twenties who had been told there was “a misunderstanding” and apparently brought along to witness Madeline being corrected. She sat at the dining table looking increasingly uncomfortable as Caleb paced near the kitchen.
“You changed the code,” Caleb said.
“Yes.”
“Without telling me.”
“After you gave it to someone without asking me.”
Patricia placed a hand against her chest. “Someone? I am his mother.”
“You are not the owner.”
Caleb slammed his palm onto the dining table. The wine glasses Madeline had not bothered to remove rattled against one another.
“Apologize to my mother.”
Madeline picked up the expectation list and threw it across the table. Pages slid through breakfast crumbs and stopped near Maren’s plate.
“Inside my own home?”
Patricia rose. “A wife follows family rules.”
Madeline reached into her handbag and removed the folder Lenora had instructed her to prepare. Copies of the deed. Mortgage statements. Tax records. The title report. Photographs of Caleb’s draft documents. A written notice revoking Patricia’s permission to enter the property.
She placed the folder on the table.
“Then read the deed.”
Caleb’s face changed.
Not enough for Maren to understand, but enough for Madeline. He recognized the folder. He knew what else she had found.
Patricia reached for it.
Madeline pulled it back sharply. “Do not touch my documents.”
Caleb stepped forward. “You’re being dramatic.”
“No,” Madeline said. “I’m being precise.”
The doorbell rang.
Caleb looked toward the entryway.
Madeline did not.
Two police officers stood outside when she opened the door. Calm. Procedural. Not surprised. Lenora had advised Madeline to request civil standby after Caleb texted that he was bringing Patricia to “settle the issue properly.”
Caleb stared at the officers as if they had entered the wrong story.
“Why are police here?”
Madeline held the property folder against her chest.
“Because your mother entered my home without permission, you helped her do it, and I found draft paperwork attempting to move my condo out of my sole ownership.”
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Patricia’s mouth opened.
No words came out.
