Chapter 5

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the property management office.

Adam had arrived, with Linda right behind him.

As soon as Linda walked in, she lunged straight for the authorization letter. "Hands off!"

I was quicker, slamming my hand down on the corner of the paper.

Linda came up empty-handed.

The property manager snatched the paper away. "Mrs. Harper, please calm down."

Linda broke down crying right there. "So what if I wrote a few words? I didn't steal anything or rob anyone!"

I stared at her. "You wrote my name. That's identity theft."

Linda gritted her teeth. "I'm your mother-in-law!"

"You're not me," I replied.

Adam stepped in front of me, his voice low. "Charlotte, what exactly do you want? The access card didn't go through, and nothing's missing. Do you really want my mom to end up with a criminal record?"

I looked at him. "You're worried about her getting a criminal record. Did any of you ever think about the trauma you'd leave me with before you did all this?"

Adam ran his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated. "Emily's staying here for a bit."

I jabbed a finger at the suitcase. "Staying here for a bit? So why is her luggage already at the property management office?"

Adam glanced over, his face falling.

He clearly had no idea the luggage had already arrived.

Linda jumped in to explain. "Emily brought way too much stuff, and I was afraid you'd be mad, so I asked Grace to keep it for now."

I let out a cold laugh. "You were worried I'd be upset, but you still went and got her a long-term pass?

"You were worried I'd be upset, but you still went and faked an authorization letter? Wow, the way you 'care' is really something else."

Adam turned to Linda. "Mom, how long are you really planning to let Emily stay here?"

Linda looked away for a moment. "She'll move out as soon as she finds a new place."

I pressed, "How long?"

She didn't answer.

Grace cut in, "Emily hasn't even found a job yet, and rent is crazy expensive these days.

"Is it really a big deal if she stays till the end of the year?

"Your place is huge anyway. It's just sitting there empty."

I felt completely numb inside.

It was only April. Staying till the end of the year? That wasn't crashing for a bit. That was basically moving in.

Adam was stunned. "Till the end of the year?"

Linda glared daggers at Grace.

Grace realized she'd just spilled the beans and instantly clammed up.

I didn't bother arguing. I just turned to the property manager and said, "Could you pull up the security footage from this afternoon and just now?

"I want to see who brought Emily into the complex."

The manager nodded and went to pull up the footage.

Adam's expression soured.

The screen lit up.

At 3:17 PM, Linda swiped her card to get in.

Emily was right behind her.

Emily was holding a dog leash in her left hand and pulling a suitcase with her right.

Adam was walking right beside her.

He was carrying another pink duffel bag.

The security footage paused right as Adam was holding the duffel bag.

The property management office fell silent.

Linda's crying stopped abruptly, like someone hit the mute button.

I stared at the man on the screen.

That was my husband, the one I'd been married to for less than a year.

He'd told me on the phone that he was working overtime today.

He said he might be late getting home and told me to eat without him.

But at 3:17 PM, there he was, right at the entrance of the complex, and right next to him was Emily, with her bags in his hands.

I turned to him. "Working overtime?"

All the color drained from Adam's face. "I..."

He barely managed a single word before clamming up.

With the security footage right there, any excuse would be a joke.

I asked, "So, was it just that she had nowhere else to go? Or did you two already have this all worked out?"

Linda hurriedly stepped in front of him. "I was the one who asked Adam to help her out. Don't blame him.

"It's hard for Emily to come back all by herself. We're the older generation and couldn't let her deal with everything alone."

I stared at her. "Wow, what a great mother-in-law you are. You helped my husband bring his first love home.

"You moved her luggage in for her. You even signed the authorization letter for me. And you even handed over my master bedroom for her."

Linda's face went pale, but she still refused to back down. "Don't keep calling her his first love. You're making it sound so bad.

"Emily and Adam are totally innocent. There's nothing between them."

I pointed at the security footage. "If they're really so innocent, then why did Adam have to lie to me about working overtime?"

Adam finally spoke up, "Charlotte, I admit I lied to you, and that was on me. But I was worried you'd read too much into it."

Honestly, I nearly laughed out loud. "First you give me reasons to doubt, then you turn around and say it's my fault for doubting?"

Adam frowned. "Do you have to be so sharp? Emily and I? Nothing is going on, I swear."

I shot back, "If there's nothing going on, then why is her luggage in my house?"

He stayed silent.

I pressed on, "If there's nothing going on, then why did your mom get her a long-term resident card?"

He still didn't say a word.

I pressed on, "If there's nothing going on, then why was she sitting at my vanity, using my stuff?"

Adam was getting frustrated. "She didn't even know it was yours!"

I looked at him, my voice barely above a whisper. "So who did she think it belonged to? Did she assume it was hers?"

As soon as I said that, even the property manager lowered his head.

Grace hurried over and grabbed the suitcase. "Fine, whatever, just drop it. I'll take Emily's things with me for now."

I reached out to stop her. "Wait a second."

Grace shot me a glare. "What else do you want?"

"Open it," I said.

Grace paused, caught off guard. "Why should I?"

I stared at the suitcase. "Is this from my house?"

Grace got flustered. "These are Emily's personal things."

I nodded. "Let Emily come pick it up herself. Until then, the property manager keeps the footage, and I'm reporting the forgery to the police."

Adam's face twisted. "Charlotte, can you just drop it already?"

I turned to face him. "You're the ones who can't let this go.

"If it was just her coming over for dinner today, I would've just asked her to leave.

"But now you lied to me. Your mom forged my signature. Your aunt helped her move her stuff in.

"Emily's not just crashing here. She's moving in for good. None of this was just some random decision. You all knew exactly what you were doing."

I didn't even raise my voice. But every word landed like a punch.