Chapter 2
The next morning, at ten o'clock, the doorbell rang like crazy.
I peeked through the peephole and saw my mother-in-law, Fiona Dickinson, and her daughter, Lisa Dickinson. They both looked mean and sour.
I opened the door.
Fiona shoved me aside and marched right in. "Emily, look at you, getting bold now, huh?"
She dropped her bag onto the couch with a thud, plopped down, and started chewing me out. "You've only been married a few years, and you're already stirring up trouble, trying to talk my son into divorcing you?
"What has the Dickinson family done to wrong you?"
Lisa, meanwhile, strutted around like she owned the place, sizing up my apartment with a look full of disdain.
She poked at this, checked out that, clearly unimpressed. "David, this is your apartment? The location's alright, but the decor is super outdated."
David trailed behind, looking awkward and helpless. "Mom, Lisa, could you two please tone it down?"
Fiona shot him a glare. "What, I'm not allowed to say anything to her now?
"She's making such a fuss."
I closed the door and walked right up to them. "Is that all?"
My voice stayed steady and cool.
Fiona blinked, clearly not expecting me to talk back so calmly. "What's with your attitude?"
I ignored her and turned to Lisa. "First off, this isn't your brother's place. It's mine.
"Second, I never asked you to come over, so I need you to leave."
Lisa's face flushed bright red. "What's that supposed to mean? This is my brother's apartment. Why shouldn't I be here?"
"Let me say it again," I said, my voice turning cold. "This is my own property, bought before I married your brother. He doesn't have a single dollar invested in it.
"The deed has my name on it.
"If you still don't get it, I can show you the deed."
Lisa was left speechless, shooting her mom a desperate look for backup.
Fiona shot to her feet, jabbing a finger right at my nose. "How dare you talk back to me, Emily?
"You married David, so what's yours belongs to the Dickinson family now.
"Forget about only a few days. Even if we stayed here forever, that's exactly how it should be."
I looked at her smug face and let out a laugh, more from anger than anything. "Oh, really?"
I turned and headed into the bedroom.
When I came back out, I had a folder in my hand.
I tossed the folder onto the coffee table. "Go ahead. Take a good look.
"This is a copy of the property deed, the sales contract, and the bank statements showing my parents paid every dollar up front.
"This proves that this apartment has never had anything to do with the Dickinson family, not from the beginning, not now, not ever."
I pulled out another file. "And here's a record of every household expense from the past three years.
"David makes 3 thousand dollars a month. He sends you 2 thousand dollars and keeps 1 thousand for himself.
"I'm the one who pays for everything. Utilities, property fees, groceries, and even all the social stuff.
"That includes the 10 thousand dollars you borrowed from me for Lisa's college tuition, and you still owe me.
"Now, Mrs. Fiona Dickinson, tell me.
"Who's really spending whose money here, huh?"
The whole living room went dead silent.
Fiona and Lisa looked like they'd seen a ghost.
They stared at the evidence on the coffee table, their faces going from red to white and back again.
David stood off to the side, his head hanging even lower, barely even breathing.
I looked at them, enunciating every word. "If you want your daughter to move in, that's possible.
"First, pay back the 10 thousand dollars you owe me.
"Then, it's 1 thousand dollars a month for rent, utilities are separate, and she covers her own meals.
"If you can't handle that, then get out of my place right now."
Fiona's face changed colors like a mood ring, red, white, and everything in between.
She pointed at the papers on the coffee table, her finger shaking.
She yelled, "It's all fake. None of this is real.
"You bitch, you forged these documents!"
She lost it, lunging at the papers like she was about to rip them to pieces.
I was ready for her. I stepped back and hugged the folder to my chest. "Forgery, huh?
"Everything's right here in black and white, stamped and signed. Why don't you go ahead and report me for forgery?
"Let's see if the court buys your story."
Lisa shrieked, "Emily, how can you do this to my mom?
"You're way out of line. I'm going to record this so everyone can see what you're really like."
She raised her phone, ready to start recording.
I shot her a cold look. "Go ahead, film all you want.
"It'll be perfect evidence that you two trespassed into my place and wouldn't leave.
"So everyone can see how low you and your mom can go."
David finally couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed his mom's arm. "Mom, stop making a scene."
Fiona shook off his hand. "Me? I'm making a scene? It's that homewrecker who's stirring up trouble!"
She plopped down on the floor and started bawling. "Why is my life so miserable?
"I worked so hard to raise my son, and now he's married and forgotten all about me!
"I can't go on like this. I might as well die right here today!"
She kept bawling and slapping her thighs. Her wails echoed down the whole hallway as she threw a full-blown tantrum.
I watched the whole circus, completely unfazed.
I pulled out my phone and checked the time. "I'm giving you five minutes.
"Get out of my apartment in five minutes.
"If you don't, you'll have to deal with the consequences."
Fiona wailed even louder. "Oh, so now you're threatening me? Go on. Hit me. Unless you beat me to death right here, I'm not leaving!"
Lisa kept recording, muttering for the camera, "Everyone, see for yourselves. This is the woman who's pushing her own mother-in-law to the brink."
David stood helplessly in the middle. "Emily, please, let's not do this. Can't we talk things through?"
I ignored him.
I calmly watched the seconds tick by on my phone.
Time passed, and Fiona was still rolling around on the floor.
Lisa was still holding up her phone, filming the whole thing.
I nodded. "Alright."
Right in front of them, I dialed a number on my phone. "Hello, is this building security?
"This is Emily Grant, the owner of Unit 1801 in Block A.
"There are three people here who forced their way into my home. They won't leave, and they're making trouble.
"Yes, they're messing up my life and making me feel unsafe.
"Please send someone up right away to take care of this situation."
As soon as I hung up, all the yelling and crying stopped in an instant. The whole living room went dead silent.
Fiona forgot to cry.
Lisa forgot all about her phone.
David stood there, totally dumbfounded.
The three of them looked at me like I was absolutely crazy.
"Emily, y-you really dared to call security?" Fiona's voice was trembling.
I didn't say a word.
Less than two minutes later, I heard hurried footsteps outside the door.
The knocking sound was steady and strong.
I walked over and opened the door.
Two security guards in uniform stood at the door, walkie-talkies in hand.
"Hello, Ms. Grant," the lead guard greeted me politely.
I stepped aside and pointed at the three of them, who were standing there like statues. "It's them."
The guards walked in, faces serious. "We've received a complaint from the owner. You three need to leave right now."
Fiona's face turned beet red. "How can you throw us out? This is my son's apartment!"
The guard glanced at me, and I simply showed the deed on my phone.
He understood immediately and turned to Fiona. "Ma'am, the deed has Ms. Grant's name on it. This is her personal residence."
"If you don't leave, we'll have to call the police."
The word "police" hit Fiona like a bucket of ice water. She was instantly chilled to the bone.
Face was everything to her.
If the cops dragged her out of her daughter-in-law's apartment, she'd be the laughingstock of the whole neighborhood.
She scrambled up from the floor, trembling all over, pointing at me, but for a long moment, she was too furious to speak. Finally, she managed to spit out, "Alright, Emily, just you wait."
She grabbed Lisa and slunk out, looking totally defeated.
Lisa's face was as white as a sheet, and she shot me a vicious glare before leaving.
David stood there, not moving an inch.
He stared at me, his eyes burning with humiliation, anger, and even a bit of fear. "Emily, are you really going to go this far?
"For your mom, you're going to embarrass our whole family like this?"