Chapter 1 - The House They Thought They OwnedI stood in front of the electrical panel with my hand resting on the breaker.
Edith stared at me.
Jeremy looked confused.
Neither of them understood what I was about to do.
“You wouldn't dare,” Edith said.
I turned toward her.
“For years, you have treated this house like it belongs to you.”
“It does,” she snapped.
“No.”
My voice was calm.
“It belongs to me.”
Jeremy laughed nervously.
“Blaire, you're upset. Go upstairs and cool down.”
I looked at him.
“There is no air conditioning.”
His face tightened.
“You know what I mean.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
I picked up my phone.
Mr. Lawrence was still on the line.
“Are you there?” I asked.
“Yes, Blaire.”
“Good.”
I put the phone on speaker.
“Tell them.”
There was a brief pause.
Then my attorney's voice filled the hallway.
“Mrs. Hutson, according to the property records, the Coral Gables residence is legally owned by Blaire Hutson Holdings LLC.”
Jeremy froze.
Edith's expression changed.
“What did you say?” she demanded.
Mr. Lawrence continued.
“The property was purchased four years ago using funds from Ms. Hutson's separate investment account.”
Jeremy stared at me.
“But we bought this house together.”
“No,” I said.
“You moved into my house.”
Edith's face turned red.
“That is impossible.”
“It isn't,” I replied.
Mr. Lawrence added:
“I have already ordered a certified copy of the deed. I also have the original purchase agreement and the bank records documenting the down payment and subsequent mortgage payments.”
Jeremy's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
I remembered the day we bought the house.
Jeremy had complained that the neighborhood was too expensive.
Edith had said we should look farther west.
I had quietly made the down payment.
At the time, I didn't care whose name was on the deed.
I believed marriage meant building something together.
Apparently, they believed it meant taking whatever I built.
“Blaire,” Jeremy whispered.
I looked at him.
“You knew?”
“I knew my name wasn't on the deed.”
His face went pale.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
He had known.
For four years.
He had known the house belonged to me.
And he had allowed his mother to behave as though she owned it.
Edith suddenly stepped toward me.
“You are not throwing me out.”
I smiled.
“I'm not.”
She blinked.
“You're not?”
“No.”
I looked at the breaker.
“You're going to leave voluntarily.”
She laughed.
“This is my son's home.”
“Then your son can find you another one.”
Jeremy stepped forward.
“Blaire, let's talk.”
“We've been talking for years.”
“You can't just end a marriage because my mother turned off the AC.”
“I am not ending my marriage because of an air conditioner.”
I pointed toward the kitchen.
“I am ending it because you watched your mother humiliate me for years.”
I pointed toward the dining room.
“Because I paid for everything while she called me lazy.”
Then I pointed upstairs.
“Because I came home exhausted and your first concern wasn't whether I was okay.”
I looked directly into his eyes.
“You were worried about whether your mother had been inconvenienced.”
Jeremy lowered his gaze.
That silence answered everything.
I walked into the bedroom.
But before I could pick up my suitcase, Mr. Lawrence spoke again.
“There is another matter, Blaire.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“I reviewed the property file this afternoon.”
“And?”
“The deed isn't the only document you should know about.”
My heart began beating faster.
“What else?”
“There is a secondary agreement attached to the original purchase.”
“What kind?”
“A marital occupancy agreement.”
I frowned.
“What does it say?”
“It states that if your husband or any member of his family attempts to claim ownership, control, or financial interest in the property without your written consent, their occupancy rights terminate immediately.”
I looked toward Jeremy.
He had heard every word.
His face had gone completely white.
Edith suddenly became very quiet.
Mr. Lawrence continued.
“And Blaire, there is one more clause.”
“What?”
“The agreement also identifies a separate property held in trust.”
I froze.
“What property?”
“The beach house in Key Biscayne.”
My mouth fell open.
I had never heard of it.
Jeremy had.
The moment I looked at him, I knew.
“You know about it.”
He swallowed.
“No.”
“You're lying.”
Edith suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Jeremy, don't say anything.”
I stared at both of them.
And for the first time that evening, I wasn't angry.
I was curious.
May you like
Because if Jeremy knew about a property I had supposedly never heard of...
Then perhaps the house wasn't the only thing they had been hiding from me.
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