Chapter 4Who Lives in My House Now?

Soon, a heavy-set, middle-aged woman arrived, dragging a boy of about ten by the hand. He was drooling, a vacant look in his eyes. A strange sense of familiarity washed over me as I looked at the boy, but I couldn't place it.

As soon as Cindy saw the woman, she pointed at me. "Brenda, look! It's this woman! She's insisting this house is hers, and she even has a fake deed that looks just like ours!"

Without a word, the woman, Brenda, marched right up to me and slapped me, hard, across the face. "Who the hell do you think you are? I've heard of people stealing wallets, but stealing a whole damn house? You've got some nerve."

The sting radiated across my cheek, stunning me into a moment of silence. I had lived half my life and never once been struck by another person. Who did this stranger think she was?

Rage, pure and hot, surged through me. I didn't hesitate. I slapped her right back, the crack echoing in the small entryway. Then, for good measure, I slapped her again.

Her arrogant fury dissolved into shocked silence. She stared at me, a hand flying to her cheek, her eyes wide with a newfound caution. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

"I'm the owner of this apartment," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "I was gone for ten years, and it looks like you people saw an empty home and decided to squat. Did you really think I'd never come back?"

She planted her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare! We have a legitimate deed to this property. If you're so sure, let's take both our deeds down to the county records office and see who's telling the truth!"

I had a better idea. "There's no need for that." I pulled out my phone. "I'll just call property management. I've been paying the HOA fees on this place every year, after all."

Brenda let out a derisive laugh. "You really won't quit until you're humiliated, will you? My husband pays those fees every year. Just wait. The manager's going to come up here and laugh you out of the building."

A few minutes later, the property manager arrived. It was a young guy I didn't recognize, not the manager from my time. Leo immediately slipped a cigarette into the man's hand. "Hey, Rick. Sorry to bother you, but we've got a crazy lady up here claiming our apartment is hers. Can you believe the nerve?"

Rick, the manager, seemed to be good friends with Leo, chuckling along with him. My blood began to boil. I was paying thousands of dollars a year for this? For a manager who didn't even know who the actual homeowners were?