The recording came from a call the previous winter, when Dad had begged me for money. He thought the call had ended, but the connection remained open. His laughter filled the villa. “There are no creditors. Natalie always pays. Soldiers do.” Garrett slowly turned toward him. Rochelle stopped screaming. Marcus then revealed the rest: in March, Dad had forged my signature on a deed transferring my villa to Rochelle and paid a notary in cash.

But Dad had made one enormous mistake. When I purchased the property, I’d placed a legal hold on its title. The county therefore flagged his forged deed immediately. The notice Josephine had ripped from the front door warned them that unauthorized entry would trigger cameras, security locks, and an automatic alert to the sheriff. The villa had never belonged to them. Nine minutes after the alarm began, headlights appeared outside. Two deputies stepped from their vehicles, and Marcus was waiting with a sealed folder containing everything.