Chapter 3

The door felt icy under my hand, and I couldn't stop trembling as I started searching online for legal advice.

I pulled up the bank records from when I sent the money to Dad, took screenshots, and saved them.

I scrolled through the chat logs where Mom kept pushing me to transfer the money, saying, "We're almost there. Just your share is missing." I screenshotted each and every message.

Just then, my phone rang, and a polite but distant female voice came through.

"Hello, is this Ms. Lakewood?"

I froze for a second, caught off guard. "Who's this?"

"It's Sophia."

Without thinking, I clenched my phone, my heart racing.

Why was she calling me? Was she here to complain? Or was she just trying to mark her territory?

I walked over to the window, doing my best to keep my voice steady. "Hi, did you need something?"

There was a brief pause on the other end.

"Ms. Lakewood, I heard from your mom today that you put all your savings into buying this house. Is that true?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah," I replied, keeping it short.

"60 thousand dollars, right?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah," I said.

There was another pause.

I could hear her soft breathing on the other end.

My heart was in my throat.

Finally, she spoke again, her voice a little hesitant. "So is your name on the property deed?"

She hit the nail on the head.

I took a deep breath and said, "No."

This time, the silence dragged on, even longer than before.

It lasted so long I started to wonder if she'd already hung up.

"Ms. Lakewood," Sophia finally broke the silence, her tone suddenly serious. "Are you free to meet up right now? I think we need to talk face-to-face. About the house, and about Ryan."

My palms were sweating.

I couldn't tell if this was a setup, or if she and my parents had already teamed up, cooking up some new trick to screw me over.

But then again, I really had nothing left to lose.

"Alright, you pick the time and place," I said.

We met at a café not far from my place.

Sophia looked much calmer than she had earlier in the day. She was dressed in a sharp business suit, her makeup was subtle and flawless, not like some girl caught up in romance, but more like she was ready to go into battle.

She didn't waste any time. "Ms. Lakewood, I'll be straight with you. Ryan and I met through a family setup.

"Honestly, I'll admit, a big reason I was interested in him was because he's straightforward and listens well, and your family was ready to pay for a brand new house for the wedding."

She took a sip of coffee and continued, "My family's pretty average. My parents are just regular workers. I don't want to start my marriage drowning in a mortgage. So, a fully paid-off wedding house is my bottom line."

I just listened quietly, not saying a word.

She looked at me, her gaze razor-sharp. "After what your mom said today, I started to get suspicious. A sister who's so 'generous' to her brother, but barely seems to matter in the family? That doesn't make sense.

"So, I had someone look into the property records for that house."

My heart skipped a beat.

She actually looked into the property records. She was way more cunning and bold than I ever imagined.

"Turns out, not only is your name not on the deed, but the house isn't even fully paid off," Sophia said, setting her coffee down and leaning in, her eyes locked on mine.

"The down payment was 150 thousand dollars, and there's 300 thousand dollars mortgage. The borrowers are your dad and Ryan. Am I right?"

I was completely frozen.

I was stunned. They actually got a mortgage for the house.

My parents told me we were paying in full with my 60 thousand dollars, and the rest from relatives.

It turned out that it was all a scam from the very beginning.

They didn't just steal all my savings; they made me believe I was building up the family, when in reality, I was just plugging the hole in the down payment for Ryan's new home.

Ryan and Sophia would be stuck paying the mortgage off together.

A wave of anger and humiliation hit me hard.

I got played, by my own dad, mom, and brother. My closest family joined forces to scam me.

Sophia looked at my pale face, her eyes showing understanding and sympathy.

"So you didn't know either," she sighed softly. "Emily, I didn't come here to blame you. I just want you to know that, in a way, we're both in the same boat."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

"They tricked you, and they tricked me too," Sophia said, her eyes turning cold. "They want to trap me into taking on the loan with Ryan. How much does Ryan even make a month? Most of the pressure will end up on me.

"They really know how to play the game."

Her words were like a sharp knife, cutting through all that fake family warmth and exposing the ugliest, most selfish schemes underneath.

I looked at Sophia, the so-called future sister-in-law I'd only just met today, and suddenly realized she was way more clear-headed and honest than my own flesh and blood.

The café played soft music, but my heart was a stormy sea.

"So, what are you going to do now?" I asked her, though I was really asking myself.

Sophia's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Of course I'm going to make them cough up every last thing they took," she said.