“When?” I asked, my voice flat. “After your mother got back from Hawaii? After she posted pictures of herself on a beach while I worked overtime?”
Patricia’s expression twisted. “How dare you talk about me like—”
Deputy Ortega raised a hand. “Ma’am. Enough.”
The deputy turned to Ethan. “Sir, you’re being informed that there is a pending investigation into identity theft and financial fraud. Today, we are here to keep the peace while Ms. Brooks gathers personal belongings and while Ms. Parker serves notice regarding occupancy and financial liability.”
Ethan jumped to his feet again. “Occupancy? What are you talking about?”
I reached into the folder I had thrown onto his lap earlier. “Flip to the section you didn’t read.”
He did. His fingers trembled now.
The house. The deed. The mortgage.
Only my name.
My father had left me an inheritance when he passed away—something I quietly used as a down payment years ago. Ethan had always behaved as if the house simply existed because he lived in it. As long as the lights stayed on, he never asked questions.
“The house is mine,” I said. “Not ours. Mine.”
Patricia blinked rapidly. “That can’t be right.”
“It is,” I replied. “And here’s the other part: your ‘you’ll have to pay’ Hawaii trip? That’s extortion when you pair it with the threats you two put in writing.”
Ethan looked like he might be sick. “Natalie, please—”
He reached for my wrist automatically, like he could physically pull me back into the role he preferred.
Deputy Ortega stepped between us immediately. “Do not touch her.”
Ethan froze. Patricia’s eyes darted around the room, calculating, realizing for the first time that her usual intimidation meant nothing against badges and paperwork.
Ms. Parker slid another document forward. “Ms. Brooks, if you’d like to proceed, we can also discuss a temporary protective order given the threats of eviction and the financial coercion documented.”
Ethan’s voice cracked. “A protective order? For what? I never hit her.”
“No,” I said quietly. “You just tried to ruin me while calling it marriage.”
The room fell silent except for Patricia’s shallow breathing.
Then Patricia made her final move. She turned to Ethan urgently. “Call your father’s lawyer. Now. Tell him she’s—she’s stealing from you. She’s trying to take your home.”
Ethan looked at her, then at me, then at the deputy. He seemed smaller by the second.