Chapter 3

Nora's face was frighteningly grim. "John, do you have to argue about this in front of everyone?"

I looked at her. "My mom somehow became a housekeeper in her own home. Am I not allowed to say anything?"

Leonard sneered. "Don't make it sound so awful. Your mother basically lived her whole life in the kitchen. Calling her a housekeeper isn't that much of a stretch."

Mom's complexion turned pale. Dad braced a hand against his aching back and stepped forward. "What did you just say?"

Caleb's mother, Patricia Watson, finally set down her wineglass and spoke leisurely.

"Oh, Nora. Life is hard when your husband is too petty. Take our Caleb, for example. He'd never embarrass his woman in front of the others."

Nora didn't argue. Her silence cut deeper than any words could have.

Dad looked at her, his voice hoarse. "Nora, we paid half the down payment for this place. What you've pulled today is frankly unacceptable."

Nora looked grim. "Mr. Shepherd, I will pay you back."

"I'm not asking you to pay us back," he said. "I'm talking about basic decency."

Leonard let out a mocking laugh. "You contributed a little money and think you get to be the master of your daughter-in-law's home?"

Mom panicked. "No, that's not what we meant."

The more she tried to explain, the more pleased the Jacksons looked.

The down payment on this apartment was 387,000 dollars. Nora put up 193,500, while Mom and Dad contributed 150,000. The remaining 43,500 was from my savings after we got married.

The deed was registered in both Nora's and my names.

Dad sold the house back home to come up with his share. Mom melted her gold bracelet and the commemorative gold medal her workplace had given her when she retired.

Back then, Nora had held Dad's hand and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd, from now on, this will be your home, too."

Now, she had them working around the place like housekeepers.

"They contributed almost half the down payment. How's that considered a little money?"

Nora pursed her lips. "We'll talk about the money later, but we will not make a scene in front of our guests here."

I turned to the Jacksons. "Guests? In what world are they considered guests?"

Caleb came over with red-rimmed eyes. "John, I know you don't like me, but my parents only came today to see Ms. Ford's new home. They didn't mean any harm."

I corrected him. "It's also my home."

He froze.

I picked up my phone and opened the property management portal. "If you claim this was just a mistake, I'll ask the property manager right now."

Nora reached out to stop me. "Haven't we embarrassed ourselves enough?"

I pulled my hand away and immediately started a video call with the property manager. He answered quickly. "Hello, Mr. Shepherd."

"Who submitted the move-in registration form?" I asked.

He paused briefly. "Mr. Jackson did. He said your wife was busy with work, so he'd be handling everything for the household from then on."

The living room went so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

"Then why was my mother registered as the housekeeper?"

He flipped through the records. "From the remarks, Mr. Jackson noted that your mother would mainly be responsible for cooking and cleaning, so it'd be more convenient for her to use the staff entrance when coming and going."

Mom swayed, and I caught her quickly.

From the moment she stepped through that door, she wasn't a mother-in-law, a mother, or someone who had helped pay for this home. She was just a housekeeper who was supposed to use the staff entrance.

Nora's face turned livid. "That's enough. Hang up."

I didn't.

"And what about me?" I asked one last question. "Why was I listed as a visitor?"

The manager answered carefully, "Mr. Jackson said you don't live here often, so he asked us to give you temporary visitor access for now. He said we could rearrange it later, depending on your wife's arrangements."

I snorted, then ended the call.

Caleb stood there, his face eerily pale. "John, I only made those arrangements on Ms. Ford's behalf because I thought you were always busy at work."

I looked at him. "You sure were helpful, weren't you? Why didn't you transfer the deed to your name while you were at it?"