Jason continued.
“The other half of the house was legally owned by Daniel. When we married, he became co-owner through the refinancing agreement we signed last year.”
My father’s face turned pale.
“That’s not possible,” he muttered.
Jason’s voice wavered as he read the next line.
“Yesterday afternoon, Daniel finalized the sale of his half of the property.”
My mother grabbed the edge of the counter.
“Sold it to who?” she whispered.
Jason looked down at the page again.
“To a property investment company based in Cincinnati.”
My father snatched the letter from Jason’s hands.
“Let me see that.”
He read the next paragraph himself, his lips tightening with every word.
“The company will be contacting you shortly to discuss the terms of shared ownership. According to Ohio law, they now have the right to request either a buyout or a full property sale.”
Jason stared at him.
“Wait, wait. What does that mean?”
My father looked up slowly.
“It means,” he said through clenched teeth, “you don’t own the house.”
Jason laughed nervously.
“Sure I do. Emily signed it over.”
“Half of it,” my father snapped.
My mother sank into one of the kitchen chairs, the only piece of furniture left in the house.
“But why would she do this?” she asked weakly.
Jason rubbed his face.
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
My father flipped the letter over and kept reading.
“By the time you receive this letter, Daniel and I will be on the road. We’ve decided to start our life somewhere else.”
My father slammed the letter down on the counter.
“That ungrateful girl.”
Jason paced across the empty living room.
“So what now?” he said. “We just talk to the company and buy their half.”
My father hesitated.
“How much money do you have, Jason?”
Jason stopped pacing.
“Well, none right now, but once the business starts…”
My father cut him off.
“Exactly.”
My mother looked up.
“Frank, surely there’s some way to fix this.”
At that exact moment, Jason’s phone buzzed. He glanced down at the screen. Unknown number. He answered.
“Hello.”
The voice on the other end sounded cheerful and professional.
“Good morning. Is this Mr. Jason Carter?”
“Yeah.”
“My name is Melissa Grant. I’m calling from Hamilton Property Investments. We recently acquired partial ownership of a property at 118 Oakidge Lane.”
Jason looked around the empty house again.
“That was fast,” he muttered.
My father leaned closer, trying to listen.
“Yes,” Jason said into the phone. “That’s the house.”
“Wonderful,” the woman replied. “We’d like to discuss the next steps in resolving the shared ownership situation.”
Jason forced a laugh.
“Sure, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Well,” she said pleasantly, “there are two options available under Ohio property law.”
Jason waited.
“First, you may purchase our share of the property. Our valuation department has estimated that half ownership is worth approximately $160,000.”
Jason nearly dropped the phone.
“How much?”
“Alternatively,” she continued calmly, “if a buyout isn’t possible, we can initiate a partition sale. That means the property would be sold on the open market and the proceeds divided.”
Jason stared at my father.
“Dad.”
My father’s jaw tightened. Jason spoke into the phone again.
“Yeah, we might need a little time to think about that.”
“Of course,” the woman said. “We’ll send the paperwork this afternoon.”
The call ended. Jason slowly lowered the phone.
“$160,000,” he whispered.
My father paced across the room.
“That girl planned this,” he said.
My mother shook her head weakly.
“No. Emily wouldn’t do something like that.”
Jason laughed bitterly.
“Well, she just did.”
Meanwhile, Daniel and I were already three hours south of Columbus. The highway stretched ahead of us in long gray lines, disappearing into the Kentucky hills. I sat quietly in the passenger seat, watching farmland roll past. For the first hour, neither of us spoke. Then Daniel glanced over.
“You okay?”
I thought about that for a moment. And surprisingly, I was.
“I think so,” I said.
He nodded.
“Good.”
We drove another few miles before he spoke again.
“You know, they’re probably losing their minds right now.”
I let out a small laugh.
“Jason definitely is.”
Daniel grinned.
“Your brother always did expect the easy road.”
I watched the highway signs slide by. Cincinnati, Lexington, Nashville. Places I had only ever passed through before.
“Do you feel guilty?” Daniel asked gently.
I considered that question carefully. For most of my life, the answer would have been yes. But something had shifted.
“No,” I said finally.
