I stopped breathing.
Even Brittany stopped shouting.
The deputy looked between her and me.
“What lease?” I asked.
Margaret began reading.
It listed my full legal name.
The address of the villa.
And a Saturday rental fee of one dollar.
Then she read the signature.
Claire Bennett.
My sister’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
I looked directly at her.
“Brittany… what did you do?”
She immediately began crying.
Fake crying.
The kind she had used since childhood whenever consequences finally caught up with her.
“I was just trying to make everything easier!”
The deputy held out his hand.
Margaret gave him the document.
Then Mom rushed into the frame.
“This is ridiculous. It’s just a family misunderstanding.”
Margaret looked at her calmly.
“No. This is eighty-two strangers blocking access to my property while two vendors claim they were hired for an event at my home.”
A man wearing a black catering shirt pushed his way toward Brittany.
