Chapter 7: The Brother Who Tried To Take My Home
For a few seconds, I forgot how to breathe.
Trevor.
The name sounded impossible.
My brother had spent years being the person my parents protected.
The person they sacrificed for.
The person they believed could do no wrong.
And now he had tried to sell my house.
My house.
I looked at Robert Hayes, waiting for him to tell me I misunderstood.
He didn’t.
“Why would Trevor try to sell a house that doesn’t belong to him?””
Robert opened the folder in his hands.
“Because he believed it belonged to your parents.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“They knew?””
Robert nodded.
“Your parents knew the property was transferred into your name. They also knew your grandmother placed legal protections on it.””
“Then how could Trevor sell it?””
“He couldn’t.””
I let out a breath.
“So he failed.””
Robert’s expression stayed serious.
“He didn’t fail because he didn’t know. He failed because he was stopped.””
A chill ran through me.
“What was he trying to do?””
Robert handed me several papers.
The first page was a property sale agreement.
The buyer’s name was blacked out.
The seller’s name caught my attention.
Trevor Carter.
I stared at it.
My hands started shaking.
“He forged my signature.””
Robert nodded.
“We believe so.””
I looked up.
“Believe?””
“Your brother claimed you gave him permission.””
A bitter laugh escaped my mouth.
“He hasn’t spoken to me in months.””
Robert studied my face.
“That’s why I came here.””
I looked at the papers again.
A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
Two weeks earlier, Trevor had sent me a random message.
Not a congratulations.
Not an apology.
Just one sentence.
“You should talk to Mom and Dad.””
I ignored it.
I thought it was another attempt to pull me back into their drama.
I never imagined he was trying to get access to my home.
“Why now?”” I asked.
Robert closed the folder.
“Because your twenty-fifth birthday is approaching.””
I frowned.
“What does my birthday have to do with this?””
“Your grandmother’s trust changes ownership completely when you turn twenty-five.””
I stared at him.
“Meaning?””
“Meaning all remaining control disappears.””
My stomach tightened.
“Control from who?””
Robert looked at me.
“Your parents.””
The room became quiet.
“So they only had control until I turned twenty-five.””
“Yes.””
“And they knew.””
“Yes.””
I looked around the house.
The house I had spent years saving for.
The house I believed I had earned without anyone’s help.
Suddenly, I wondered how much of my life had been manipulated.
“Why didn’t my grandmother tell me?””
Robert’s expression softened.
“Because she tried.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“She sent letters.””
“How many?””
“Three.””
My heart dropped.
“What happened to them?””
Robert looked away.
“That is something you need to ask your parents.””
I felt anger rise in my chest.
All those birthdays.
All those holidays.
All those moments when I wondered why my grandmother’s family never talked about her.
They weren’t memories.
They were missing pieces.
“Robert,” I said, “tell me everything.””
He sat down at my kitchen table.
“The woman your grandmother was had one regret.””
“What was it?””
“She spent too many years watching your parents make excuses for Trevor.””
I looked down.
“She saw what everyone else ignored.””
“What?””
“That you were the only one in the family who actually carried responsibility.””
My eyes burned.
I hated that those words meant so much to me.
Because deep down, I had spent years wondering if I really was less important.
Robert continued.
“Your grandmother believed Trevor needed consequences, not rescue.””
“That’s why she left everything to me.””
“Yes.””
I looked at the documents.
“So my parents stole from me because they wanted to save him.””
Robert nodded.
“But there is something else.””
I looked up.
“What?””
“The photo that caused your family to panic.””
I froze.
The graduation picture.
The house picture.
The reflection.
“You know about that?””
Robert nodded.
“Your father contacted me the moment he saw it.””
“Why?””
His face became serious.
“Because the person reflected in your window wasn’t a stranger.””
My heartbeat quickened.
“Then who was it?””
Robert slowly opened another document.
A photograph was attached.
An old photograph.
My grandmother standing in front of the same house.
Beside her was a man.
A man I recognized.
I stared at the picture.
Because I had seen him before.
In my family albums.
At my grandmother’s funeral.
Robert watched my reaction.
“You know him?””
I swallowed.
“Yes.””
My voice became barely audible.
“That’s my uncle.””
May you like
Robert nodded.
“And he was the person who was supposed to inherit everything before your grandmother changed her will.””
