Chapter 2 - The Midnight AuditThe drive back to my modest suburban home felt surreal. The city lights of Charleston blurred through my windshield as the adrenaline began to fade, leaving a cold, heavy numbness in its place. For thirty years, my entire existence had revolved around Daniel. When his father walked out when he was seven
And how did he repay me? By letting a woman treat me like an unwanted stray at the most important event of his life.
I parked in my driveway, walked into my quiet, empty house, and turned on the kitchen lamp. The silence was deafening. I dropped my purse on the kitchen table, unclasped the brass lock, and pulled out the thick, cream-colored envelope.
Inside was a single, official document with a golden state seal embossed at the top: the legal deed to the idyllic lake house in Lake Marion that my late parents had left to me. It was a property valued at over half a million dollars, free and clear of any mortgage. Three months ago, at Daniel’s persistent, weeping request—claiming he and Vanessa needed a stable asset to start their family—I had gone to my lawyer’s office and legally transferred the deed into Daniel’s sole name.
The paperwork was complete. The signature was notarized. Legally, the lake house already belonged to him.
Or so he thought.
I walked over to my desk, opened my laptop, and pulled up an encrypted folder containing scanned copies of every single financial document, text message, and bank statement involving my son over the past five years. Then, I pulled out my phone and dialed a familiar number.
It rang twice before a deep, calm voice answered.
“Margaret? It’s past midnight. Is everything all right at the wedding?”
It was Arthur Pendelton, my late husband’s former business partner and a retired senior partner at Pendelton & Vance Law Firm. He had known me since Daniel was in diapers.
“Arthur,” I said, my voice eerily calm. “I need a favor. A very big favor.”
“Name it, Margaret. You sound serious. What happened?”
“The wedding is over,” I said. “And I need to know if a deed transfer that was finalized and filed three months ago can be legally contested, revoked, or rescinded under the clause of fraudulent inducement and extreme emotional abuse under duress.”
May you like
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line. “Good Lord. What did that boy and his wife do?”
“They put me outside by the trash cans and told me I didn’t count,” I replied quietly. “And Arthur? I want my lake house back.”
