“I know what I said,” Mrs. Redmond snapped. Her professional exterior was gone. “I was finalizing the title search for you and found the error. Circe should have been a better businesswoman. You’ll need to surrender the keys.” She shot me a pointed glance. “All of them. And vacate the property in twenty-four hours.”

“Wait,” I said. “Maybe we can talk to the bank. We can pay the taxes, make a payment plan or something.”

“Why didn’t you know about this?” Mom asked, glaring at Mrs. Redmond. “You’re a property lawyer, right? Shouldn’t you have known earlier?”

“This is news to me, too, but I assure you, I have done everything in my power to honor Miss Colchis’s wishes. Turns out she was a liar and wasn’t being honest when it came to being free and clear on the property. Do you know how much time I’ve wasted trying to facilitate this handover to you?”

“I’ll go to the bank myself,” I said.

Mrs. Redmond opened her briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers. “Everything is right here. There’s nothing that can be done.” On top of the stack was a notice ordering us to vacate the property. She tossed it onto the coffee table. She looked at me and held out her hand. “The keys.”

Mom stepped between us. “Get out.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. “Mrs. Redmond, what’s wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? And did you know that Circe was missing this whole time? How did she know to leave me letters and—”

“You can’t even begin to understand the time and resources I have put into this transaction,” she said angrily. She stepped closer to me. “Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be. Give me the keys.” She reached out and Mom slapped her hand away.

“Reach toward my daughter one more time and see what happens,” said Mom.

“Are you threatening me?” Mrs. Redmond asked.

“Take it however you want,” Mom said, squaring up. “You look like somebody already went upside your head once today. You might not wanna make it worse.”

Mrs. Redmond peered around her. “When you vacate the property, make sure you leave the keys, or I’ll have a warrant issued for your arrest. The police have already been apprised of the situation. I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

“You don’t seem sorry at all,” I said. “Maybe if you were better at your job, this wouldn’t have happened. Dr. Grant told me Karter didn’t grow up here like he said. What else are you two lying about?”

Mrs. Redmond glared at me. “Dr. Grant should mind the business that pays her.” She turned and walked toward the front door. Mom and I followed her out.