Chapter 7 - The Closing Date
Maya waited until Victor left for work.
Then she asked Linda to open the garage cabinet.
Linda refused.
“Those braces need to be fitted by a professional.”
“They were fitted before they were delivered.”
“Victor says they’re unsafe.”
“Victor lied.”
Linda’s face tightened.
“You think everyone is against you.”
“I think you’re afraid of him.”
That accusation struck harder than Maya expected.
Linda walked away.
Later that afternoon, Maya heard her mother speaking quietly in the laundry room.
“The developer called again,” Linda said. “He wants to know if Maya signed.”
Victor answered through the phone speaker.
“She will.”
“What if she contacts Evan?”
“She can barely reach the front door without the braces.”
Linda began crying.
“This has gone too far.”
“It went too far when you signed the trust reimbursements.”
Maya stopped breathing.
Victor continued.
“If investigators look at those forms, your name is beside mine. Do you want to lose the house and go to prison?”
“I didn’t know the invoices were false.”
“Try proving that.”
Maya backed away before Linda opened the door.
Now she understood her mother’s silence.
Linda was afraid of Victor.
But she was also protecting herself.
That night, Maya searched Victor’s briefcase while he showered.
She found a purchase agreement for the entire property.
Closing was scheduled for Monday.
The contract stated that Maya and Evan had transferred their ownership shares to Hale Family Holdings.
Their signatures appeared on the final page.
Both were forged.
Victor had already received a $300,000 deposit.
If the sale failed, he would have to return the money.
The bank records attached to the contract showed he had spent nearly all of it.
Maya photographed every page using an old phone Victor believed no longer worked.
The device had no cellular service.
But its emergency-call function remained active.
She programmed Evan’s number into the accessibility shortcut.
Three presses of the side button would call him.
A fourth would begin recording.
Maya hid the phone beneath the seat cushion of her wheelchair.
She planned to call Evan the next morning.
But Victor discovered that the garage cabinet had been opened.
He came into the kitchen holding one of her braces.
“You’ve been looking through things that don’t belong to you.”
Maya stared at him.
“They were made for my legs.”
Victor locked the brace inside the pantry.
May you like
Then he put the key in his pocket.
👉 With closing only days away, Victor decided Maya would not leave the house until she signed away her father’s land.
