Chapter 1

As the holiday was winding down, I saw a thank-you post in the homeowners' group chat: [Big thanks to my fiancé for secretly getting me my very first apartment.]

In the photo, a girl was holding the keys to her new place, with a freshly renovated living room behind her.

I didn't pay much attention at first, until I noticed the patched tile in the bottom right corner of the TV wall.

That was the apartment I'd personally overseen the renovation for, my wedding home.

The down payment of 287,000 dollars was every last cent left from my dad James Lane's accident compensation.

I sent Adam Carter a screenshot.

He didn't reply for half an hour: [It's just the same layout. Don't be so paranoid.]

The next day, I went straight to the property management office.

After checking the address, the receptionist hesitated before sliding the owner's registration form over to me.

The apartment hadn't changed.

But in the emergency contact section, my name used to be there.

Now it was some other woman's name, Sophia Bennett.

And her relationship with Adam was listed as spouse.

*****

As I walked out of the property management office, my phone rang.

It was the furniture store, asking when I'd settle the balance for the dining table in the apartment on the seventeenth floor. "Ms. Lane, Mr. Carter said Ms. Bennett would be the one to confirm the rest of the furniture?

"She swapped out the 4,000-dollar dining table for the 6,000-dollar one, so now there's still 2,000 dollars left to pay."

"Who's the order under?" I asked.

The clerk paused. "The payment's still under your name, so we can only ask you for the balance."

I almost laughed out of anger. "So she gets to choose, and I'm stuck paying?"

"Mr. Carter is listed as a co-recipient. He said Ms. Bennett would be in charge of the furnishings from now on, so we figured you two had already worked it out."

I pulled up the order.

The dining table, sofa, master bed, and mattress, the entire 22,700 dollars deposit came from me.

The clerk added, "They also asked us to get rid of the old furniture when we deliver the new stuff. The wooden cabinet in the dining room is on the removal list too."

The photos came through right away.

I instantly recognized that old wooden cabinet, the one whose door never quite closed right.

James had made it with his own hands.

When we moved into the apartment, Adam complained about how heavy it was, but I said, "James doesn't leave much behind. I want to keep this."

He agreed right away.

I called him right away. "Did you seriously tell the furniture store to toss out James's cabinet?"

"Sophia said it doesn't go with the vibe," he replied.

"That's my stuff."

He was already losing his patience. "It's an old cabinet. Is it really worth making a fuss over? What's the problem with her wanting the place to look nice? If you care so much, haul it away yourself."

I looked up at the lit window on the seventeenth floor. "Why did she list herself as your wife on the property form?"

He went quiet for a few seconds.

"It's easier for the door access."

"Can't friends get access too?"

He softened his tone. "Emily Lane, you see one property form and go snooping around. I really don't have the energy for all your wild suspicions. Sophia had a fight with her family, so she's crashing here for a few days.

"I wrote spouse without even thinking about it. Do you really have to twist it into something dirty?"

Back then, whenever he said stuff like that, I'd always start doubting myself first.

But then the furniture store sent over another change order.

The recipient had already been switched from Emily to Sophia.

And right below it, it wrote: [The lady of the house has approved the new design.]

I asked, "So she's the lady of the house now? Then what am I supposed to be?"

He went silent for a few seconds, then finally said, "Emily, don't make a scene."

Then he hung up.

I texted the furniture store: [Don't touch the cabinet. I'm coming up right now.]

When the elevator doors opened on the seventeenth floor, I saw two movers in the middle of carrying the cabinet out.

I held onto the cabinet door. "Put it down."

A woman stepped out from inside the apartment.

Sophia, in my slippers as if she belonged there, paused for a moment when she saw me. "Ms. Lane? Here to pick up the cabinet? Great, that'll save the movers another trip."

The cabinet door was already cracked from being pried open.

"Who did this?" I demanded.

"Mrs. Carter got a little rough while cleaning."

"Mary Carter was here too?"

"We're all living here now. It's pretty normal for family to come over and help out, right?"

We.

Right then, the electronic lock beeped.

Adam walked in.

The moment he saw me, his expression soured. "I told you to take the cabinet yourself. Why did you have to come up here?"

I ignored his attitude and put my finger on the lock.

The lock beeped. "Verification failed."

I tried again.

Still failed.

I turned to face him. "Where's my fingerprint?"

Adam tossed his car keys onto the entryway cabinet. "The lock was reset."

"Why is her fingerprint still there?"

"She lives here every day. How else is she supposed to get in?"

"So what about mine?"

He rubbed his temples. "You don't even live here anymore."

I was the one who put down the 287,000-dollar down payment.

Now, even my fingerprint was seen as too much for this place.