I walked out of the room, into Robert’s old office, and opened the heavy floor safe. I pulled out a second folder. A bright blue one.
I walked back and dropped it onto the table in front of Martin.
“This,” I said quietly, “is rediscovered power.”
Martin opened the blue folder. He blinked, reading the first document. “These are property deeds.”
“One is for the luxury three-bedroom apartment Richard and Susan currently live in,” I stated. “The other is the beachfront property they use for their summer vacations.”
Martin looked up, stunned. “Everything is in your name.”
“Of course it is,” I said. “I bought them as investments. Richard complained rent was too high in the city, so I let them live there. No lease. No rent. They’ve been there for ten years. They have never paid a dime in property tax or HOA fees. I pay it all.”
Martin swallowed hard. “And the cars?”
“The gray SUV Richard drives to his agency, and the convertible Susan takes shopping. Both registered to my LLC,” I replied.
Martin slowly closed the blue folder, leaning back in his chair, looking at me with a mixture of awe and slight terror. “Denise Parker. What exactly do you want me to do?”
“They erased my name from their guest list,” I said, staring at the blue folder. “Now, it’s my turn to erase them from my payroll.”
I laid out the strategy. A formal, thirty-day eviction notice posted on their apartment door the day they returned from their honeymoon. The locks on the beach house changed immediately. A registered legal demand for the immediate return of my vehicles, under threat of police report for grand theft auto.
