I received the keys to the mansion I inherited, and my husband’s family came in choosing rooms as if I didn’t matter anymore until I held up the papers and said something that wiped the smiles off their faces.

Part 1

“Who authorized you to divide my house as if I were already dead?”

The words escaped Maya’s lips the moment she stepped through the gate of the sprawling estate in Hidden Hills. For a brief second, even the security guard at the entrance held his breath in the sudden tension.

She had driven all the way from her quiet apartment in Silver Lake, keys clutched tightly in her hand. She was still feeling the heavy weight of her mother’s absence, a woman who had worked her entire life to leave her more than just money.

Her mother wanted her to have the certainty that she should never let herself be cornered by anyone. But upon arriving, Maya didn’t find a private moment with her husband to see the property for the first time.

Instead, she found Austin’s entire family waiting for her as if they were about to inaugurate a luxury hotel. Her mother-in-law, Martha, was the first one to approach her with an expectant look.

“Oh, you are finally here, and we were absolutely roasting out here in the sun. Let me see those keys, or was there some kind of legal problem with the notary?”

Maya withdrew her hand with a dry, guarded smile and told her that everything was ready. Her sister-in-law, Bridget, let out a high-pitched laugh as her six-year-old son carelessly kicked the tire of Maya’s old sedan.

“Well, it is no wonder they were in such a hurry to get here because this house must have cost a fortune. My brother certainly knew how to marry into the right family,” Bridget said while adjusting her dark glasses.

Maya felt a burning sensation in her chest, but she remained silent because she wanted to believe they were just there to see the place. She desperately wanted to think Austin wasn’t so naive as to invite them to stay.

He opened the front door, and as soon as the residence was revealed to them, the family rushed in like a stampede.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Bridget shouted as she collapsed onto an ivory sofa that still had decorative glass wrapped in plastic on the coffee table.

The young boy put his feet up on the expensive sofa with his dirty sneakers still on and started jumping excitedly. Austin just burst out laughing at the sight.

“Leave him alone, honey, he is just a child having some fun.”