Chapter 1: The Paper
“Dad, why did our lawyer send me this?””
Jasmine stood in the middle of the drawing room, gripping the paper so tightly that the edges had begun to curl beneath her fingers.
David looked away from the television.
His daughter’s face was pale.
“What is it?”” he asked.
Jasmine crossed the room and handed him the document.
“It says I’m being removed from the family property.””
David frowned.
He unfolded the paper.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then his expression changed.
“What?””
Jasmine swallowed.
“I got an email from the lawyer this morning. I thought it was some kind of mistake. So I called his office. They told me the paperwork was real.””
David read the first page again.
Then the second.
His jaw tightened.
“Who authorized this?””
“I don’t know.””
David looked at her.
“Jasmine, did you sign anything?””
“No.””
“Did you give anyone power of attorney?””
“No, Dad.””
“Did you agree to transfer your interest in the property?””
“Of course not.””
David pushed himself up from the sofa.
At sixty-one, he wasn't a man who moved quickly unless something mattered.
Now he moved fast.
He grabbed his phone from the coffee table.
“I'm calling our lawyer.””
Before he could dial, footsteps sounded from the hallway.
Jessica entered the drawing room carrying a cup of tea.
She stopped when she saw David holding the document.
For one brief second, something flickered across her face.
Then it disappeared.
“What happened?”” she asked.
David slowly turned toward her.
“Did you do this?””
Jessica raised an eyebrow.
“Do what?””
Jasmine stared at her.
“This.””
She pointed at the document.
Jessica took a sip of tea.
“I told the lawyer to remove you from the property.””
The room went silent.
Jasmine actually laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because she couldn't believe what she had just heard.
“You did what?””
Jessica placed her cup on the side table.
“I said I told the lawyer to remove you.””
“But why?””
“Because I had a reason.””
David stepped forward.
“You had a reason to remove my daughter from a property she has a legal interest in?””
Jessica looked at him calmly.
“I was protecting the family.””
Jasmine's eyes filled with tears.
“Protecting the family?””
“Yes.””
“You removed me without even telling me.””
Jessica sighed.
“You're nineteen, Jasmine. You don't understand how valuable that property is.””
Jasmine stared at her.
“I grew up there.””
“And that doesn't make you responsible enough to control it.””
David's voice hardened.
“Jessica.””
She looked at him.
“I transferred the property interest to my son.””
Jasmine's mouth fell open.
“Your son?””
Jessica nodded.
“My son deserves security too.””
David's face turned red.
“What did you just say?””
“I want my son to have the property too.””
David walked toward her.
“You don't transfer family property behind my back.””
Jessica folded her arms.
“I was trying to make sure your son wasn't the only child who benefited.””
“He is not my only child,” David said.
Jasmine looked down.
Those words should have comforted her.
Instead, they made her chest ache.
For years, she had tried to believe that Jessica cared about her.
After Jasmine's mother died, David had eventually remarried Jessica.
At first, Jessica had been kind.
She made Jasmine breakfast.
She remembered her school performances.
She even held her hand at the funeral.
But slowly, things changed.
The spare bedroom became Jessica's son's bedroom when he visited.
Family decisions started happening without Jasmine.
Her name disappeared from conversations about the future.
And now this.
Jessica stepped closer.
“David, you're making this bigger than it is.””
“Bigger?””
“Yes.””
“You removed my nineteen-year-old daughter from a family property.””
“She still has a home.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
Jessica's voice became colder.
“I transferred the property because I was scared Jasmine might sell it someday.””
Jasmine stared at her.
“I would never do that.””
Jessica shrugged.
“You say that now.””
David picked up his phone.
“You're going to fix this.””
Jessica's confidence suddenly faltered.
“What?””
“You heard me.””
“I already made the arrangement.””
“You made it without my permission.””
“It was for the family.””
David shook his head.
“No. It was for your son.””
Jessica went quiet.
David dialed.
The lawyer answered after two rings.
“Martin, it's David.””
He paused.
“Yes, I just received a copy of the transfer documents.””
His eyes never left Jessica.
“Tell me exactly who authorized this.””
Jasmine stood beside him, trembling.
Jessica suddenly looked nervous.
David listened.
Then his face became completely still.
“What?””
Another pause.
“You're telling me there are additional documents?””
Jasmine looked up.
“What additional documents?””
David didn't answer her.
He listened to Martin for several more seconds.
Then he slowly lowered the phone.
His eyes were fixed on Jessica.
“Why,” he asked quietly, “did you sign a document using my name?””
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Jessica's face went white.
And for the first time that morning, she had nothing to say.
