Chapter 5: The Daughter Who Was Used
Olivia looked like she had been punched.
“No.””
Dad placed the document on the table.
“Your signature is here.””
She stared at it.
“That’s not possible.””
“You signed it.””
“I didn’t.””
Her voice cracked.
“I swear I didn’t.””
I looked at her carefully.
Because months ago, I would have enjoyed seeing her panic.
But now I saw something else.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Olivia,” I said quietly.
“What did Monica make you sign?””
She looked at me.
And for the first time, she looked like my sister.
Not my enemy.
“I don’t know.””
Dad sat down.
“Tell us everything.””
She wiped her eyes.
“Six months ago, Mom said she needed my help.””
“What kind of help?””
“She said there were family documents.””
“Did she tell you what they were?””
“No.””
Olivia shook her head.
“She said Dad wanted me protected.””
My father closed his eyes.
“She used you.””
Olivia nodded.
“She told me I was just signing permission forms.””
I looked at the document.
“And you didn’t read them?””
She looked ashamed.
“No.””
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone in that room understood something painful.
Monica hadn’t just tried to destroy me.
She had manipulated Olivia too.
Dad called his attorney again.
The answer came quickly.
The signature might not transfer ownership.
But it created suspicion.
And suspicion was exactly what Monica wanted.
She wanted the family fighting.
She wanted us separated.
She wanted everyone blaming each other.
That was when I realized the truth.
The suitcase wasn’t meant to remove me.
It was meant to make me leave willingly.
Because once I was gone, nobody would question anything.
I went upstairs and found the old camera footage stored on the USB.
I had saved everything.
Not just Olivia.
Not just Monica.
Everything.
Months of conversations.
Arguments.
Whispers.
I opened one file.
And heard Monica’s voice.
“She’s becoming suspicious.””
Another voice answered.
A man’s voice.
My blood froze.
I looked at Dad.
“Who is that?””
He listened.
His face changed.
Because he recognized it.
“That’s Daniel.””
“Who?””
“My financial advisor.””
The room went silent.
The man who had helped my father manage his money.
The man who had access to his records.
The man who could provide every detail needed for a fake property transfer.
Dad immediately called him.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Then a message came through.
From Daniel.
One sentence.
“I warned you not to trust your daughter.””
Dad stared at the phone.
I felt sick.
Because suddenly this was bigger than Monica.
Bigger than Olivia.
Bigger than a house.
Someone had been planning this carefully.
For months.
Maybe years.
Dad grabbed his keys.
“We’re going to his office.””
Olivia stood.
“I’m coming.””
Dad looked at her.
“You don’t have to.””
She swallowed.
“I do.””
The three of us left together.
For the first time in months.
Together.
Daniel’s office was empty.
The receptionist said he left suddenly that morning.
But before we could leave, Dad noticed something on the desk.
A file.
With his name on it.
Inside were bank statements.
Property records.
Private documents.
And one photograph.
A photograph of me.
Taken outside my school.
I felt my stomach twist.
“Why does he have pictures of me?””
Nobody answered.
Then Dad found the final page.
A handwritten note.
Not from Daniel.
From Monica.
The message was short.
“Once Jasmine disappears, Marcus will finally stop choosing the past over us.””
My father read it silently.
Then he handed it to me.
And I understood.
All my life, I thought I was fighting for a house.
I was wrong.
I was fighting for the truth about why someone wanted me gone.
Then Dad turned the page over.
There was one more sentence written underneath.
May you like
A sentence that made my blood run cold.
“Step two begins when Jasmine discovers who her real mother was protecting her from.””
