I slept for forty minutes.
At six in the morning, I was sitting beside the hotel window with cold coffee when Harrison called.
"The deed is clean."
I closed my eyes.
That should have relieved me.
It didn't.
"Still solely mine?"
"Yes. No transfer. No recorded lien that concerns me. Taxes are current. Insurance appears current."
"Then why does Julian talk like the house belongs to him?"
"I can't answer that from county records."
I watched traffic beginning to gather below.
"Can my mother give him rights to it without me?"
"Ownership? No."
"What about letting him live there?"
"That's more complicated, depending on circumstances, but it doesn't make him the owner."
I rubbed my forehead.
"Check everything."
"I already started."
"Not only the property."
Harrison was silent.
"What exactly are you asking me to investigate?"
I looked toward Mom.
She was awake now but pretending not to be. I could tell by the stillness of her shoulders.
"Money."
Her eyes opened.
I turned away from her.
"Transfers I've sent. Household expenses. Anything connected to the property that you can lawfully verify."
"I'll need authorization for anything involving your mother's private accounts."
"I'll get it."
"Natalie, are you expecting fraud?"
"I don't know what I'm expecting anymore."
After the call, Mom sat up.
"You shouldn't do this."
I put the phone down.
"Do what?"
"Dig into everything."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because Khloe is your sister."
"That's exactly why I need to understand."
She pushed the blanket aside and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Families survive things by knowing when to leave something alone."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Did Dad teach you that?"
Her face changed.
That was unfair. Dad had been dead eight years, and invoking him was a cheap way to break through her defenses.
I moved beside her.
"I'm sorry."
She nodded without looking at me.
For a moment we sat quietly.
Then I took her hand.
"Mom, I didn't come home to punish anybody."
"I know."
"I came home because I missed you."
Her fingers tightened.
"And now I'm looking at you and wondering how much of your life I've missed while you kept telling me everything was fine."
Tears gathered in her eyes.
"I didn't want you worrying."
"Why?"
"You worked so hard."
"So?"
"You were alone over there."
"I had friends. I had a career. I had an apartment. You knew that."
"You're my daughter. I still worried."
I understood then that we had been doing the same foolish thing to each other for six years.
Protecting each other with silence.
I had hidden how lonely Dubai sometimes felt because I didn't want her asking me to come home.
She had hidden whatever happened here because she didn't want me abandoning the life I had built.
"Did Julian hurt you?"
Her head snapped toward me.
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
"Physically?"
"No."
"Did he threaten you?"
"No."
"Did Khloe?"
"Never."
"Then why are you afraid of them?"
"I'm not."
"Mom."
She pulled her hand away.
"Please stop."
I stood.
There were moments when pressing harder only drove frightened people deeper into themselves. I had learned that in business. I hated learning that it applied to my own mother.
"Okay."
She looked surprised.
"I won't ask right now."
Relief softened her face.
"But you're not going back there alone."
The relief vanished.
"Natalie—"
"That isn't negotiable."
Around noon, Khloe called.
I let it ring once before answering.
"Where's Mom?"
"With me."
"Bring her home."
"Whose home?"
A long silence followed.
"Don't do this."
"I'm asking a simple question."
"You're acting like we threw her into the street."
"No. You put her beside the garage."
"She wanted that room."
"And the cleaning?"
"Mom likes keeping busy."
I looked across the hotel room.
Mom had gone into the bathroom.
"Does she also enjoy being spoken to like hired help?"
Khloe exhaled sharply.
"You saw five minutes of our lives."
"I saw enough to start asking questions."
"About what?"
"Everything."
That frightened her.
I heard it.
Her breathing changed before her voice did.
"What does that mean?"
"It means I'm reviewing the house records."
"Why?"
"Because it's my property."
"Nobody said it wasn't."
"Julian came close."
"He's frustrated."
"With me?"
"With you walking in after six years and treating us like criminals."
There was that word again.
Criminals.
Nobody had accused them of a crime.
"Khloe, is there something you need to tell me?"
"No."
"Think carefully."
"I said no."
"Fine."
I ended the call.
Harrison called again at four.
This time his tone was different.
"I need to see you in person."
"Why?"
"I found inconsistencies."
"What kind?"
"Your mother first needs to sign an authorization. After that, I can confirm more."
My stomach tightened.
"How serious?"
"I don't speculate."
That was why I trusted Harrison.
"When can you come?"
"Seven."
"Come to the hotel."
Mom signed the authorization reluctantly.
Harrison spent nearly an hour asking questions about bills, transfers, utilities, property maintenance, and who had access to which accounts.
Her answers became less certain as the questions became more specific.
Julian handled the utilities.
Julian helped with online banking.
Khloe ordered groceries.
Julian paid contractors.
Mom couldn't remember when she had last personally reviewed a complete bank statement.
I sat beside her saying almost nothing.
By the end, Harrison's legal pad was covered in notes.
He closed it.
"I'll need a little time."
"How much?"
"A few hours."
Mom looked frightened.
"Harrison, has something happened?"
He gave her a careful professional smile.
"I'm establishing facts, Mrs. Carter."
After he left, I ordered dinner.
Mom barely touched it.
At eight thirty, my phone rang.
Harrison.
"Come outside."
I went to the window.
A dark sedan was parked beneath the hotel entrance lights.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to discuss this on the phone."
My stomach turned.
I took the elevator downstairs.
Harrison was standing beside his car with a thick folder beneath one arm.
"What did you find?"
"Enough that I want you to make decisions carefully."
"About the house?"
"About everything."
He opened the folder but didn't hand it over.
"First, I need you to answer something."
"What?"
"When you bought the property, did you ever authorize Julian to act on your behalf?"
"No."
"Did you give Khloe access to your mother's support payments?"
"No."
"Did you ever reduce the amount you sent your mother?"
I stared at him.
"No."
"Not even temporarily?"
"Never."
Harrison looked toward the hotel.
"Then we have a problem."
Before I could ask another question, headlights swept across the driveway.
A black SUV pulled in.
I recognized it immediately.
Julian got out.
Khloe emerged from the passenger side.
They had followed Harrison.
Julian looked at the folder under his arm, then at me.
"You had no right."
I stepped forward.
"No right to what?"
His face tightened.
"To investigate us."
And with that sentence, Julian confirmed something Harrison hadn't yet needed to say.
There was something to find.
