He Wanted to Sell Our House for Her Trip, I Bought It Instead Chapter 05
I looked at him. “Go ahead. Sue.”
Derek froze. He hadn’t expected me to be this defiant.
“You—”
“Derek, you wanted to sell. You set the price. You signed the papers. Did I twist your arm?”
I took a step closer.
“Did you ask a single person about eminent domain before you sold? Did you even bother? No. You just wanted money in a hurry so your sister could take some trip to Europe.”
His face went red, then white.
“I warned you. You called me a busybody. Now that you know the value, you come begging? Too late.”
“Clara!”
“Sue me. See if the court gives you a win.”
Derek stood in the middle of the living room, fists clenched, breathing hard.
His mother had shown up at some point. She stood in the doorway, slapping her thigh and sobbing.
“Oh my God! All that money! Gone just like that!”
“This family is cursed! We let that monster into our house!”
Three years I waited on them. And I was the monster.
“Brenda, save your tears. They’re not gonna do you any good.” I looked at her. “You said it yourself—I’m not family. What’s not family has nothing to do with you.”
“You—”
“Leo needs to sleep. You need to leave.”
I turned to close the door.
Derek caught the frame with his palm. “Clara, you’re not walking away until you explain this!”
“Explain what?”
“That house … that house belongs to the Vances! We’re not even divorced yet!”
“The deed is in my mother’s name.” I looked at him. “You want to see?”
I pulled the deed from my bag, flipped it open, and shoved it in his face.
The name on the deed was Linda Wells. Clear as day.
Derek’s face went completely pale.
“You … you put your mother’s name on it?”
“Legal purchase. I can put anyone’s name on it I want.” I tucked the deed back. “Now, please leave.”
The moment the door closed, Derek was still yelling from outside.
“Clara! You wait! This isn’t over!”
Day twenty of the waiting period.
Derek actually filed a lawsuit.
His lawyer told him the sale was legal, no fraud, no getting the house back.
He didn’t accept it. He found another lawyer.
The second lawyer said the same thing.
So did the third.
He burned thousands on consultation fees over ten days. Got nothing.
My mom came home from running errands and told me all about it. She was laughing so hard she could barely stand.
“Clara, you should’ve seen it. Derek’s mom was sobbing outside the main gate of the subdivision, screaming that you’re some kind of con artist who stole all their money. Everyone just stood there laughing.”
“Nobody said anything for her?”
“Say something? Please. Everybody knew they were the ones who sold the house. They listed it, you bought it. That’s how it works.”
I smiled.
Good for them.
Day thirty of the waiting period.
At the County Clerk’s Office.
The clerk looked at both of us. “Both parties still want the divorce?”
“Yes,” I said.
Derek didn’t speak. His face was black as tar.
He didn’t want to go through with it.
He’d spent the last few days trying to get people to talk me out of it. Begging me to cancel.
But I wasn’t going back.
If Derek refused to sign, I would have filed for divorce in court anyway. Either way, he wasn’t getting the money.
Sign. Fingerprint. Stamp.
Marriage license swapped for divorce papers.
Outside the office, Derek stood next to me, jaw clenched. “Clara, you’re gonna get what’s coming to you.”
“What’s coming to me isn’t your problem anymore.”
I held Leo and walked away without looking back.
Leo rested his chin on my shoulder and whispered, “Mommy, do we never have to see Daddy again?”
“No, baby. Never again.”