Chapter 18: The Confusion
276 words
Richard stood in the rain for ten minutes after the taillights vanished, clutching the wet business card. Panic, cold and sharp, began to claw at his gut. He ran back inside, his wet shoes squeaking on the linoleum.
"It's a mistake," he muttered, his voice echoing in the empty house. "She found a sugar daddy. That’s it. She’s sleeping with the old lawyer."
He scrambled to his laptop, his fingers slipping on the keys as he logged into their joint checking account. He needed to drain it before she spent a dime on her new boyfriend.
ACCESS DENIED. ACCOUNT CLOSED.
He slammed his fist on the table. "She can't close it! It's my money!"
He grabbed the phone to call the bank, but then he saw it. An envelope Vance had left on the kitchen counter, right where Loretta had signed the divorce papers. It was thick. Legal size.
Richard tore it open. It wasn't a bill. It was a copy of a Property Deed.
Owner of Record: The Frank Miller Revocable Trust. Trustee: Loretta Miller.
Richard stopped breathing. Loretta’s father hadn't owned the house outright? No, he had put it in a trust years ago to protect it from medical liens. And Richard, in his infinite wisdom, had just served eviction papers to the Trustee.
Tiffany waddled into the kitchen, holding a paint swatch. "Ricky, looking at these colours, I think 'Soft Peach' is better for the... why are you wet? And why do you look like you're going to throw up?"
"Shut up!" Richard screamed, his face turning a blotchy red. "She owns the house, Tiff! She owns the goddamn house!"
End of Chapter 18
