Tiffany simply shrugged her shoulders. “He probably forgot because he is so swamped at work, but we are already settled in and there really is no room for extra guests.”
The phrase “extra guests” echoed in my head. In my own house, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at me.
It was as if they expected me to scream or make a scene, but I refused to give them that satisfaction. “Okay,” I said with a gentle smile. “I will find somewhere else to stay for now.”
Her eyes shone with a clear sense of triumph. I went to a small motel a few miles away that had a partial view of the water where I could barely see the roof of my home.
I did not sleep that night, not because I was sad, but because I finally had total clarity. I understood that this was no longer just a family rudeness.
It was an invasion and a message. The next morning, when I returned to enter with my own key, I discovered that what Tiffany had done was much worse than I had imagined.
Part 2
My key would not turn. It wasn’t that I had the wrong key, but someone had replaced the entire lock cylinder on the front door.