“Hollis,” I said, “don’t let them leave. And under no circumstances allow them to sign anything.”

He exhaled sharply. “Madeline, I didn’t even realize it was your villa. Your parents presented themselves as authorized sellers. They had paperwork—a power of attorney, copies of identification. It all looked… official.”

“Send me scans of everything,” I said. “Every page. Every signature. The notary stamp. And tell me who the buyer is.”

“I can email the entire packet right now. The buyer is a couple from Raleigh—Ethan and Kimberly Shaw. They haven’t transferred the full payment yet. The funds are still in escrow. But your parents already collected an ‘advance’—ten thousand dollars—for what they called ‘urgent repairs.’”

My jaw tightened. Ten thousand. A tidy amount—just enough to vanish quickly.

Hollis lowered his voice. “Police are here. Your mother is crying. Your father keeps saying you’re ungrateful.”

I swallowed my anger. “Put me on speaker.”

There was movement, then my mother’s voice filled the line, thick with theatrical emotion.

“Maddie, thank God—tell them this is all a misunderstanding. We did it for Chloe. You don’t know what she’s going through.”

I kept my voice steady. “I know you tried to sell property that doesn’t belong to you.”

My father cut in sharply. “You were unreachable. Chloe is your sister. She could have been hurt. We’re your parents—we have rights!”

“No,” I said calmly. “You have no rights to my property. The villa is entirely in my name. Fraud doesn’t become acceptable just because you call it family.”

My mother began sobbing louder. “You’ve always been so cold. You make money and act like we don’t matter. Chloe is desperate!”

“Chloe is thirty-two,” I replied. “If she’s desperate, you help her get treatment—not steal from me.”

Another voice came onto the line.

“Ms. Pierce, this is Officer Daniels. We’re examining the documents. The notary listed on the power of attorney says she never notarized it. She believes her stamp was stolen last year.”

My stomach flipped, but I forced my voice to remain calm. “So the document is forged.”

“We can’t make a final conclusion yet,” he said, “but it strongly suggests fraudulent paperwork. We’re taking statements now.”

Hollis spoke again, cautiously. “Madeline… there’s something else. When your parents came in, they asked whether you owned any other properties.”

A chill ran through me. “What did you tell them?”

“I said that was none of their business,” he answered quickly. “But it raised concerns. That’s when I called my broker and then the police.”