Nathan pulled every account record that night. Over five months, Alyssa had used his login to send $37,000 to Ridgeline Interiors, a small company owned by her cousin. Nathan stared at the invoices until his face went pale. Almost none of the money had gone toward my suite. Instead, it had paid for a custom home office inside Nathan and Alyssa’s house, complete with expensive shelving, a standing desk, and a remodeled bathroom.

The $50,000 home-equity loan wasn’t really about finishing my suite. It was supposed to replace the missing $37,000 before Nathan discovered where the money had gone. After draining my construction fund, Alyssa planned to abandon my suite and convert the unfinished space into her own studio, telling everyone I’d simply changed my mind about moving in. Even Alyssa’s sister knew. The delays hadn’t been mistakes. The missing stove wasn’t a misunderstanding. Alyssa had been quietly building the home she wanted—with my money.