“I was leaving on a business trip, but the flight was canceled and I came back home. When I opened the door, a strange woman was standing there wearing my robe. ‘You must be the realtor, right? My husband said you’d come to evaluate our apartment.’ I silently nodded and stepped inside…”

“Oh I am Brianna,” the woman replied. “Trevor and I have been together for almost a year.”

Almost a year. Paige remembered the business trips, the late nights, the tired voice on the phone, the excuses. Pieces aligned with terrible clarity.

“So how long have you two been married,” Paige asked casually.

Brianna laughed. “Married. Not yet. We are engaged though. The ring is at the jeweler being resized.”

Paige kept her expression smooth even as nausea curled in her stomach.

They approached the bedroom door. On the dresser sat a framed photo. Trevor and Brianna smiling on a beach. The date on the frame read last August. That was when Trevor had claimed he attended a leadership seminar in Chicago.

The bathroom door opened. Steam drifted out.

Trevor’s voice followed. “Hey babe did you see my…”

He froze when he saw Paige.

For a moment no one spoke. His eyes widened. His lips parted. Then calculation flickered across his face like a switch being flipped.

“Oh,” he said. “You are early.”

Brianna turned toward him, confused. “Trevor. Do you know the agent.”

Paige closed her folder slowly and smiled with quiet control.

“Yes,” Paige said. “We know each other very well.”

Trevor stepped forward. “Paige wait. This is not what it looks like.”

Paige lifted a hand gently. “Why do you not finish getting dressed. This will only take a moment.”

His instinct was to argue. Instead he retreated into the bathroom, clinging to hope that she might simply leave.

Brianna shifted uncomfortably. “I am sorry. This is awkward.”

“No apology necessary,” Paige replied. “These things happen when schedules overlap.”

The younger woman relaxed, believing Paige’s calm tone. That told Paige everything. Brianna did not know.

Paige adopted her professional voice. “If you do not mind, I need a few details for my report. Are you renting or purchasing.”

“Purchasing,” Brianna said proudly. “Trevor handled all the paperwork. We are closing soon.”

“Utilities already transferred,” Paige asked.

“Yes. He is very organized,” Brianna said, showing her phone. “He even sent me copies of the forms.”

Paige accepted the phone and scrolled through emails. Her name appeared on documents she had never signed. Her signature copied and pasted. The apartment she owned before marriage was being sold behind her back.

Trevor returned, dressed and pale.

“I have seen enough,” Paige said, handing the phone back. “I will contact you later.”