“Nice?” I asked him incredulously.

“They just ordered me to come inside and cook for them in my own house.”

One of his aunts decided to intervene, stepping closer to me with an insincere expression.

“Oh, honey, you really shouldn’t exaggerate so much,” she said.

“That is just how mothers-in-law operate, and if you start asserting your rights now, your marriage will not last long at all.”

“Then it is a very good thing that I am not married to him yet,” I replied, and the words hung in the air like a heavy weight.

Lucas grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the hallway, his grip tighter than it needed to be.

“Are you losing your mind?” he whispered harshly.

“Why would you say that in front of my family?” he asked.

“Because I desperately need to know exactly who I am about to marry,” I said.

“You are just letting your anger get the better of you, Felicity,” he argued.

“No, Lucas, I am not angry, I am finally realizing the truth,” I said.

I asked him if he knew his mother had invited this entire group to my house, and he nodded slowly.

I asked him if he knew they were going through my private rooms, and he stared at the floor in shame.

I asked him if he knew his family genuinely thought this house belonged to them, and he said absolutely nothing.

That silence was far worse than any confession he could have made.

I walked back upstairs, but this time I went down the second-floor hallway to check the other rooms.

The guest room door was wide open, and inside, there was a massive bag of clothes, a folded blanket, and a suitcase waiting against the wall.

In the other room, I found sandals kicked under the bed, confirming that this was not a temporary gathering, but a full-scale relocation.

I went back downstairs with my heart hammering against my ribs, and when I reached the main entrance, I noticed something new.

There was a shiny, new deadbolt installed right over the original lock.

“Who put that there?” I asked the room at large.

Beatrice didn’t even flinch.

“I had it changed for security reasons, because this is a big house with many people coming and going, and things easily get lost,” she said.

I felt the floor drop out from under me.

“Did you change the lock on my house without telling me?” I asked.

“Oh, don’t start with the drama, because it was just to protect everyone’s belongings,” she replied.

“There is no ‘everyone’s’ here, this is my home,” I said.

Lucas chimed in with a tired, pathetic voice.

“I knew about it, but it really wasn’t that big of a deal, and my mom just wanted to help,” he said.

That was the moment the door of doubt finally closed for good.

“Help whom?” I asked, but he remained silent.

Beatrice crossed her arms and looked at me with pure calculation.

“Look, Felicity, I am going to be very clear with you,” she said.

“After the wedding, it is best that this house be managed by someone with actual experience,” she stated.

“You are young, you do not know how these things work, and Lucas has his own financial commitments, so his family needs support too,” she added.

“What exactly does ‘managed’ mean?” I asked, even though the answer was sickeningly clear.

“Let’s just get things in order and see if it is better to transfer the deed to another name to simplify the paperwork,” she said.

I felt nauseous as I realized they weren’t just invading; they were preparing to steal my property.

I looked at Lucas.

“Did you know your mother wanted to transfer the legal paperwork?” I asked.

He clenched his jaw, refusing to look at me.

“Don’t say it like that, because nobody is trying to take anything from you,” he lied.

My phone vibrated with a message from an unknown number.

“I am Uncle Dante,” the message read.

“Do not trust them, as they are desperate because of a massive debt, and your house is their primary target.”

I looked up, and I saw that Lucas had turned completely pale.

Before I could ask him about the debt, Beatrice spoke up again.

“That is enough, because either you fall in line starting today, or this wedding is going to get off to a very bad start,” she warned.

I understood then that the full truth was still hidden, but it was already knocking at the door.

CHAPTER 3

I put my phone into my bag and looked at every single person in the room with absolute silence.

For the first time all night, I didn’t feel afraid, I felt a wave of complete clarity.

“I want all of you to leave right now,” I said calmly.

Nobody moved an inch, and Beatrice looked at me as if I had just blasphemed.

“What do you mean, leave?” she asked.