I walked into Diane’s dining room wearing the tired, agreeable smile Harper had coached me to wear. The table was set beautifully, the way it always was when they wanted something. Diane kissed my cheek. Marcus pulled out my chair. And there, seated at the far end with a folder already open, was a man I had never met, introduced as “a family friend who happens to be a notary.” My stomach tightened. The surprise Harper had warned me about was sitting in front of a stack of property documents, a pen resting neatly beside them.

Diane began gently, the way she always did. “Celeste, dear, we thought since everyone is here, you could sign the property update. Just a formality before the baby comes.” Marcus nodded along, relaxed, certain. But what none of them knew was that Harper was parked outside, and that my phone in my pocket had been recording every word since I stepped through the door. I folded my hands over my belly, looked at the notary, and asked the one question that made the whole room go still. “Before I sign anything, can you tell me exactly whose name this transfers the deed into?”