Chapter 3 The person sent a video, then quickly deleted it. But I'd seen enough. In the video, Aria was beaming at her phone: "Mom, I finally have my own little house!" And the background was unmistakably my mother's property! Every shred of self-control I had left evaporated. remembered that day so clearly. Mom was dying in the hospital bed, pressing that property deed into my hands with her last bit of strength. was sobbing, telling her I didn't want any house-I just wanted her to stay. And Caleb had stepped in, taking the papers from my trembling hands and pulling me into his arms: Don't worry, Mom. I'll take care of Sloane. She'll never want for anything." Mom had smiled peacefully and slipped away. 'd collapsed in that cold hospital hallway, and only Caleb was there to hold me together, whispering over and over: It's okay, Sloane. I'm here. I've got you. Everything's going to be okay." After Mom died, I couldn't bear to look at anything that reminded me of her. So Caleb handled everything-her belongings, even the funeral arrangements. Dad saw all of this and patted my shoulder, telling me Caleb was a guy I could trust with my life. Who could have predicted that the man my parents trusted completely was just after the money and property all along? Actually, Caleb's setup wasn't even that sophisticated. The lingering sweet perfume that wasn't his usual scent, the young slang that would slip into his vocabulary, all those sudden "business trips"... 'd made him my entire emotional support system, so I chose to ignore every red flag. After deleting the video, Aria sent: "Oops, wrong chat!" Then she sent some promotional pics of the bakery's new items. stared at this pathetic attempt at acting and didn't bother replying. Instead, I clicked on her Instagram. he hadn't blocked me yet, and her latest post was that same video she'd just deleted: Moving into my new place! Come celebrate at my housewarming party!] Che'd included an address below-and sure enough, it was MY mother's house. At the bottom, Caleb had liked it and commented: Congrats, baby.] I even spotted my best friend Jessica in the comments, liked and everything: Congrats, girl! Another empowered millennial woman making moves!] They all know damn well this wIAAN' L... File came his achievement I quickly called the property management company and told them there was an issue with the transfer paperwork-I needed everything frozen immediately. Let's see who the hell thinks they can steal from me right under my nose!