Chapter 4 - The Secret Ultimatums
Forty-eight hours earlier, Stacey had been sitting in her living room, carefully writing a check for forty-five thousand dollars from her modest retirement savings—funds she had set aside for ten years to help her only son buy his first home.
Brooke had come over uninvited, walking into the kitchen without knocking.
"Stacey," Brooke had said, leaning over the marble counter with a cold, condescending sneer. "I saw the draft of the house title. You put Evan’s name on it alongside mine, but I noticed you didn't include my father as the primary co-owner."
"Why would your father be on the title, Brooke?" Stacey had asked calmly. "This is a gift from me to you and Evan."
"Because my father is providing the safety net if your cheap gift falls short," Brooke had snapped, stepping closer. "And let’s be honest—forty-five grand is barely enough for a down payment in the neighborhood I deserve. If you don't hand over the check directly to my father's accountant so he can manage the purchase, you won't even be seated at the front table at my wedding."
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Stacey had looked into Brooke’s arrogant eyes and realized then that her son was marrying a predator who viewed her family as nothing more than an open checkbook.
👉 What sneaky clause had Brooke tucked into the property contract with her father's lawyer?
