Chapter 2 - The Intruders on the Screen
The live security feed loaded on my phone, rendering the sunlit living room of the $966,000 coastal mansion I had bought just three months ago.
I expected to see an empty house. Instead, my screen filled with familiar faces—and one complete stranger.
My brother Julian stood in the center of the open-concept living room, wearing a tailored suit I had bought him for his job interview. Beside him was his wife, Serena, holding a clipboard and pointing toward the panoramic ocean windows. Walking beside them was a middle-aged man holding a binder stamped with the logo of a prominent local real estate agency.
I zoomed in on the audio stream.
"As you can see," Julian was saying smoothly to the agent, "the property is in pristine condition. My sister purchased it under our family holding arrangement, but we are looking for an immediate cash liquidation. We want it listed by tomorrow morning."
The real estate agent looked around, clearly impressed. "And your sister has authorized this sale? The deed registration lists Clara Vance as the sole owner."
Serena stepped forward with a slick, practiced smile. "Clara is currently out of the country on an extended European vacation. She handed full power of attorney to Julian before she left. We have all the signed paperwork ready. We just need to move fast while the coastal market is hot."
My blood ran cold.
They hadn't just excluded me from the $30,000 Mediterranean cruise I paid for. They had planned this entire trip as a distraction. They sent Serena's family on the cruise using my tickets so they could stay behind, lock me out of my own property, and sell my $966,000 investment right out from under me.
They thought I was currently stuck on an international flight to Greece, completely unreachable over the Atlantic Ocean, completely unaware that the master access code to my house had just been overwritten.
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They thought I was helpless.
I looked down at my boarding pass, tore it quietly into four pieces, and tossed it into the airport trash can.
