Chapter 4

Nora finally lost her temper. "Why are you acting so extreme, John?"

I stared at her. "You took the home my parents had to sell their house to help pay for, yet you didn't even leave them a place to sit. You let another man get onto my bed, wear my slippers, and move into my apartment. Tell me, Nora. Who's really the extreme one here?"

Her breath caught.

Leonard chimed in again with his unsolicited opinion. "This is all about money, again. Poor in-laws are always such a headache. They put up some money and act like they deserve to have their family name carved on the deed."

Tears rolled down Mom's cheeks. "We're not trying to take advantage of anyone. We only wanted our son to feel safe and respected in his own home."

It felt like someone had twisted a knife into my chest.

Leonard was about to say more, but I grabbed the fruit plate from the table and smashed it at his feet. Glass shattered across the floor.

"I dare you to say another word to my parents."

Silence dawned upon the living room.

Nora strode over and grabbed my wrist. "You've gone too far today, John."

I looked at her hand around mine. "Let go."

She didn't.

Caleb clutched his chest, panting as if having a panic attack. "Forget it, Ms. Ford. This is all my fault. I'll leave."

Nora immediately let go and rushed to steady him. "Take a deep breath, Caleb."

When Mom's hands had been scalded red, Nora hadn't asked once if she was okay. When Dad was sweating buckets from his back pain, she hadn't lifted a finger to help him.

But the moment Caleb frowned a little, she acted as if the world was ending. I looked at her, and whatever last bit of feelings I had for her disappeared.

Just then, the doorbell rang. The property manager stood at the entrance with two security guards. Behind them was a middle-aged man.

Nora's face changed. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

Michael Ford walked in with a stack of printed documents, his face gloomy. "To get to the bottom of why my son-in-law has become a visitor in his own home."

He threw the papers at her. "And there's also this."

I looked down. The title read, "Acknowledgement of Debt". The signatory was Dad.

Dad stared at the document, his face slowly changing. "What's this?"

Nora wanted to pick it up, but Michael pinned it under his foot. "Let your in-laws see for themselves."

I bent down and picked it up, my fingertips turning cold.

The document stated, "Adam Shepherd voluntarily lends 150,000 dollars to Nora Ford to purchase an apartment. This money was not a gift and did not entitle him to any share of the property."

Dad's signature was on the final page.

Mom covered her mouth in shock. "Honey, when did you sign this?"

Dad's face had gone ashen. "T-The day we paid the down payment. Nora said the bank needed an additional statement explaining the source of the funds, or the mortgage wouldn't go through."

He turned to Nora. "You said it was just a statement."

She swallowed hard. "Mr. Shepherd, it really was part of the mortgage process."

I stared at her. "And did that require you to write that they'd have no claim to any of the apartment's share?"

Nora fell silent. I already had the answer.

The wooden rocking horse fell to the floor with a dull thud.

Dad hadn't had much schooling in his life, but he knew he had to help me buy a home. When Nora said the mortgage paperwork was complicated, he signed whatever she put in front of him.

He knew he had to sell the house he had lived in for more than 20 years because he didn't want me to feel inferior in front of my in-laws.

That simple, trusting faith had somehow been weaponized against him.

Mom cried. "Nora, I know we said we didn't need to own the place, but you can't just deceive him like this."

Nora's face scrunched together. "Mrs. Shepherd, I never meant to deceive you guys. I was just worried there would be disputes over the property in the future."

I snorted. "Is that so? Or were you just worried about what might happen once Caleb moved in?"