CHAPTER 2 — THE HOUSE THAT NEVER BELONGED TO HIM
Outside the front door, Chantal's patience finally snapped.
She rattled the handle.
Pounded the wood.
Called her son.
Three times.
Five times.
Seven times.
No answer.
When Julien finally picked up, irritation filled his voice.
“Mom, what's wrong now?”
“This ridiculous woman changed the locks!”
Julien frowned.
“What?”
“She locked me out of my own house!”
Julien froze.
His own house.
The phrase sounded normal.
Until it suddenly didn't.
Because when he thought about it...
he had never actually signed the purchase documents.
Elise had handled everything.
The mortgage.
The renovations.
The insurance.
Everything.
An uneasy feeling settled into his stomach.
Forty minutes later, he arrived home.
Elise was waiting in the living room.
Calm.
Composed.
Dangerously calm.
“What is this?” he demanded.
She slid a folder across the table.
“Read.”
Julien opened it.
The first page was the property deed.
His eyes moved across the document.
Then stopped.
Owner:
Elise Laurent.
Sole Owner.
No co-owner.
No joint ownership.
No Julien.
No Chantal.
Nothing.
“That can't be right.”
“It is.”
Julien laughed nervously.
“Come on, Elise. We're married.”
“Yes.”
“So half of this is mine.”
“No.”
The smile vanished from his face.
Elise leaned forward.
“The house was purchased with money inherited from my grandfather before our marriage. Legally, it has always belonged to me.”
Silence.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Then she placed a second document in front of him.
Bank transfers.
Private accounts.
Unauthorized withdrawals.
Amounts so large they made Julien's hands tremble.
“What is this?”
“You tell me.”
His face turned pale.
Because he recognized every transaction.
Every transfer Chantal had convinced him was harmless.
Every payment taken from Elise's accounts without her knowledge.
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For the first time in six years...
Julien realized his wife knew everything.
