Whenever Delilah tried to establish boundaries, Judith accused her of being disrespectful, and Evan automatically defended his mother. Eventually, Delilah learned that speaking up only created another argument followed by pressure to apologize, so she gradually stopped challenging either of them.
Things became worse after Delilah left her teaching job to spend more time raising Noah. Although she and Evan had made that decision together, he eventually began using his income as proof that he controlled the household and repeatedly referred to the property as his.
“His house?”
Delilah nodded quietly. She knew perfectly well that I’d purchased the property before handing them the keys, but years of hearing Evan claim ownership had apparently made her stop questioning him.
What Evan didn’t seem to remember was that I had never transferred the deed.
The house was still legally mine.
Three days before I found Delilah and Noah in the parking lot, everything finally erupted over something absurdly small. Noah accidentally spilled orange juice on a new area rug Judith had purchased without consulting anyone, and instead of treating it like an ordinary accident involving a five-year-old, Judith began screaming at him.
