Donovan's voice carried anger too. "Keep your voice down. Don't let him hear you."

"I wish he would hear! Maybe then he'd have the sense to move out."

"How was I supposed to know he'd be like this? I thought he'd give in to my mom! Who knew he'd be so stubborn!"

"So, what do we do now? We can't get rent from him. Maya's starting elementary school soon and still doesn't have her own room. She can't keep sharing with us forever."

I stopped listening to the rest. It was just more passive-aggressive complaining about me. I rolled over, closed my eyes, and went back to sleep.

…

That morning, I had fieldwork with the afternoon off. I came home early without telling anyone. The moment I opened the front door, I saw my bedroom door slightly ajar. My mother-in-law was hunched over, rummaging frantically through my nightstand.

"Mom, did you find it yet? The property deed should be in a red folder. It's hard to miss."

Her phone sat on the pillow with the speaker on. Sloane's voice came through loud and clear.

"Not yet... I've been looking everywhere and still can't find it."

"Keep looking!" Sloane's tone turned urgent.

"Now that Arya's gone, Donovan is your only son left. If you don't rely on him, who will you rely on? Once we transfer the house into our name, we can take proper care of you in your old age.

"If you can't find it and the house stays in Graham's name, our family of four will have nowhere to live. And you can forget about a comfortable retirement!"

I stood in the doorway, coldly watching this scene unfold.

My mother-in-law's hand trembled. She whipped around and met my eyes. Her face went deathly pale as she fumbled to end the call, her lips quivering. "Graham... You... Why are you home?"

She stood frozen in place. She darted her eyes away, looking like a child caught doing something wrong.

I looked at her, feeling a pang of bitterness. I let out a soft sigh. "Grace, even though Arya's gone, I've always treated you like my own mother."

Without waiting to see her mortified expression, I walked straight into my room and closed the door. That evening, I did not join them for dinner.

They assumed I was not home, so their conversation in the living room became unguarded.

"Grace, I asked you to find one property deed, and you couldn't even do that. What can you actually accomplish?" Sloane's accusation was undisguised.

"I really did look everywhere... He's done too good a job at hiding it." My mother-in-law's voice was low.

"How big can one room be?" Donovan sounded impatient.

"Look again tomorrow. It has to be in a drawer or cabinet somewhere. It can't just disappear into thin air."

I barely slept that night. First thing the next morning, I put the property deed in my bag, took it straight to the office, and locked it in my desk drawer. When they could not find the property deed, they came up with a different scheme.

After work that day, Sloane called me. "Graham, come home early. We have something important to tell you."

I took my time heading home. The moment I walked in, I saw an unfamiliar woman sitting on the living room couch. She looked to be in her early 30s.

Sloane immediately pulled me over enthusiastically. "Come on, Graham. Let me introduce you. This is my distant cousin. She's virtuous and has a steady job."

The woman smiled at me. I ignored her and looked at Sloane instead. "What's this about?"

Sloane's face was all smiles, but her words were blunt. "Graham, look. Arya's gone, but you're still young. You can't spend the rest of your life alone.

"Why not remarry now? Then you'll have someone to care for you, and you can have a child. Wouldn't that be perfect? My cousin is really great. She'd treat you well."

I actually laughed at the absurdity. "Arya just passed away, and you're already rushing to find me a new wife? Don't you think that's inappropriate?"

Donovan immediately put on a stern face. "How is it inappropriate? We're doing this for your own good! What kind of life is it for a young man to stay single forever?"

"For my own good?" I let out a cold laugh. "You just want me to get out of this house sooner, right?"

Sloane shot to her feet, pointing at me. "This has always been the Marlowe family's house. Asking you to leave is perfectly reasonable. And we're introducing you to someone for your own good, to give you somewhere to belong. Don't be ungrateful!"

"Let me make this clear right now. Either you remarry or you move out. Otherwise, don't blame us for not being nice about it!" Donovan's tone was harsh.

I took a deep breath. "You need to understand. This house..."

Before I could finish, my mother-in-law, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly went limp and collapsed straight to the floor.

"Mom!"

Everyone froze in shock.

When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics said only one family member could ride along.

Without thinking, I got in.

After a quick examination at the hospital, the doctor said, "The patient is fine. She just fainted from stress and emotional distress. Her blood pressure spiked.

"She clearly has something on her mind. As her family, try to be more accommodating and don't upset her further. We'll do a full checkup tomorrow. If there are no issues, she can be discharged."

Seeing the doctor say there was nothing serious, Sloane sidled over.

"Graham, so... Maya's home alone with no one watching her. I need to head back."

Donovan immediately chimed in, "I've also got some things to handle. Can you look after Mom for now? We'll come back first thing tomorrow morning to relieve you."

Watching their eagerness to leave, I did not argue. I just nodded.

"Fine. Go ahead. I'll call if anything comes up."

The next day around noon, a nurse came asking for my mother-in-law's ID and insurance card. Only then did I realize I had not brought them.

I called Donovan and Sloane, but after several attempts, no one picked up. I had no choice but to go home and get them myself.

When I reached the front door, I pulled out my key and inserted it into the lock. However, no matter how I turned it, it would not budge. The key would not come out either.

My next-door neighbor came out with her trash. Seeing me struggling with the door, she mentioned casually, "Graham, didn't your family tell you? Your sister-in-law had someone come change the lock this morning. The new lock was just installed not long ago. Your old key definitely won't work."

My heart sank. Changed the lock? What did that mean?

I immediately called Sloane. The next second, her phone's ringtone sounded clearly from inside the apartment. So she was home.

I raised my hand and pounded on the door. "Sloane, open up!"

The sounds inside paused. After a long moment, Sloane finally shouted impatiently through the door. "What are you banging for? Grace is still in the hospital. Why aren't you there watching her? What are you doing back here?"

I suppressed my anger. "What gives you the right to change my lock without permission?"

"Your lock?" Sloane let out a mocking laugh, her tone self-righteous.

"Graham, get it straight. This is the Marlowe family's house! This is Arya's house! Now that Arya's gone, this house belongs to the Marlowes. It belongs to us! I'll change the lock if I want to."

"This house was bought by my father for me. My name is on the property deed!" I raised my voice. "Your whole family has been freeloading here from day one!"

"Stop lying!" Sloane did not believe me at all.

"This house was bought by Arya. Now that she's gone, you have no connection to the Marlowe family anymore. What right do you have to keep living here? Get lost!"

"I'm asking you one last time. Are you opening this door or not?"

"No! If you're so tough, stay out there!"

I took a deep breath. Without wasting any more words on her, I opened my phone's dial pad and pressed three numbers. The moment the call connected, I said in a calm voice, "Hello, I need to report a crime. Someone is illegally occupying my house."