I always knew my family saw me as a bank account with legs, but I never thought they’d actually rob me blind. My name is Maya, and I’ve been the responsible one for as long as I can remember. While my younger sister, Sasha, was getting her nails done and posting Instagram stories, I was working 60-hour weeks in international finance, sending money home, and making sure everyone else’s life stayed picture-perfect.
The call came on a Tuesday morning in Singapore, where I’d been stationed for the past eight months. I was reviewing quarterly reports when my laptop chimed with an incoming video call from home. Mom’s face filled the screen, practically glowing with excitement.
«Maya! Oh, honey, we have the most wonderful news!»
I leaned back in my chair, already sensing trouble. Mom only used that sing-song voice when she wanted something or had done something she knew I wouldn’t like. «What’s going on?»
«Well, you know how Sasha’s been planning her wedding to Xander.»
«The wedding that’s costing more than most people’s houses?» I interrupted.
Mom’s smile faltered for half a second. «It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, Maya. Anyway, we found the perfect solution for the funding issue.»
My stomach dropped. «What kind of solution?»
Dad’s face appeared beside Mom’s, wearing that jovial expression he always put on when he was about to deliver bad news, like it was a gift. «We sold your apartment.»
The words hit me like a physical blow. «You what?»
«The downtown condo,» Mom chirped. «We got an excellent price for it. More than enough to cover Sasha’s wedding expenses and then some.»
I stared at the screen, my mind reeling. «That’s my apartment. My name is on the deed.»
«Well, technically, yes. But we’ve been managing it while you’re away,» Dad said, his tone suggesting this was perfectly reasonable. «And since you’re not using it…»
«I’m not using it because I’m working overseas to pay for everyone else’s lifestyle!»
Sasha’s face suddenly filled the frame, pushing our parents aside. She was radiant, practically bouncing with excitement. «Maya, isn’t it perfect? Now I can have the wedding of my dreams at the Grandview Estate. 300 guests, a live orchestra, imported flowers—everything I’ve always wanted.»
«Using money from selling my home?»
Sasha waved dismissively. «You can always buy another apartment when you get back. Besides, you’re never even there. At least this way, the money’s going to something meaningful.»
«Meaningful,» I repeated the word slowly, tasting its bitterness.
«The wedding is in six weeks,» Mom added. «We’ve already put down deposits on everything. The venue, the caterer, Sasha’s dress. It’s going to be absolutely magical.»
I looked at their faces on the screen: Mom beaming with pride, Dad nodding along like he’d just announced a promotion, and Sasha glowing with self-satisfaction. Not one of them showed even a flicker of guilt or concern for what they’d done to me.
«How exactly did you manage to sell property that’s in my name?»
Dad cleared his throat. «Well, we may have handled some of the paperwork ourselves. You know how these things work, family helping family.»
«You forged my signature.»
«That’s such an ugly way to put it,» Mom said, her voice taking on that wounded tone she used whenever anyone called out her behavior. «We’re family. We look out for each other.»
«By committing fraud?»
Sasha rolled her eyes. «God, Maya, you’re being so dramatic. It’s not like you can’t afford another place. You make tons of money.»
«Money I’ve been sending home to keep this family afloat.»
«And we’re grateful,» Dad said quickly. «This is just a one-time thing. For Sasha’s special day.»
I stared at them, these people who shared my DNA but felt like strangers. The apartment wasn’t just property to me. It was my sanctuary, my proof that I’d made something of myself, my escape from the suffocating dynamics of this family. And they’d sold it like it was a used car.
«Maya?» Mom’s voice was cautious now. «Say something. Aren’t you happy for your sister?»
I forced my expression into neutral territory, years of corporate negotiations having taught me to hide my emotions. «Congratulations, Sasha. I’m sure it’ll be a beautiful wedding.»
Sasha clapped her hands together. «I knew you’d understand! You’re the best big sister ever!»
«I have to go,» I said, my finger hovering over the disconnect button. «Work calls.»
«Of course, honey,» Mom said. «We love you.»
I ended the call and sat in the silence of my Singapore office, staring at my reflection in the black screen. They thought they’d played me perfectly: the dutiful daughter who’d swallow this betrayal with a smile and maybe even send a wedding gift. They had no idea what they’d just unleashed.
I picked up my phone and scrolled to a contact I hadn’t called in months. Kinley answered on the second ring.
«Maya, what’s wrong?»
«I need a favor,» I said, my voice steady as steel. «And it’s going to get messy.»
«I’m listening.»
«My family just made the biggest mistake of their lives. And I’m about to show them exactly what the responsible daughter is capable of.» I smiled for the first time since the call ended. «Congratulations, Sasha. But you might want to check your own mail soon.»
«Start from the beginning,» Kinley said, her voice sharp with focus. «What exactly did they do?»
I paced my hotel room, phone pressed to my ear. «They sold my downtown condo, forged my signature on the documents, and used the money for Sasha’s wedding.»
«Jesus, Maya. That’s straight-up fraud.»
«Gets better. They’ve been managing the property while I’m overseas, so they had access to everything. Keys, documents, the works.»
«How much are we talking about?»
«The condo’s worth about $400,000. They probably got close to that, maybe more in this market.»
Kinley whistled low. «Okay, first things first. Do you have copies of the original deed and mortgage documents?»
«Everything’s in my secure cloud storage. I learned a long time ago not to trust my family with important paperwork.»
«Smart. What else do they have access to?»
I stopped pacing. This was the part I’d been dreading to admit out loud. «Nothing. At least, nothing they know about.»
«Meaning?»
«Remember when I set up that holding company three years ago? Meridian Holdings?»
«The one you used for your investment properties? Yeah, what about it?»
«I transferred ownership of the condo to Meridian six months after I bought it. My parents think they sold property I owned directly. But legally, they just committed fraud against a corporation.»
«Maya, you beautiful, paranoid genius. So the sale is completely invalid?»
«Completely. But there’s more.» I sat down on the bed, suddenly feeling the weight of what I was about to reveal. «Kinley, who do you think has been paying my parents’ mortgage for the past four years?»
Silence stretched across the line. Then… «No. Tell me you didn’t.»
«Meridian Holdings has been making their mortgage payments. Anonymous benefactor, they think. Some distant relative who wanted to help but stay private.»
«How much?»
«$2,800 a month. Plus, I’ve been covering their credit card debt, car payments, and half of Sasha’s college loans. All through shell accounts they can’t trace back to me.»
«Holy shit, Maya. You’ve been bankrolling their entire lifestyle?»
«While living in a studio apartment in Singapore and eating ramen for dinner most nights. Yeah.»
«And they just sold your home to fund a wedding. A $400,000 wedding.»
Kinley was quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice had that dangerous edge I remembered from law school. «What do you want me to do?»
«First, file an injunction to void the sale. Fraud invalidates the entire transaction.»
«Done. What else?»
«Contact Meridian’s bank. Stop all payments to my parents effective immediately. Mortgage, credit cards, everything.»
«Maya, that’ll trigger foreclosure proceedings within sixty days.»
«I know. They’ll lose their house. They should have thought of that before they stole mine.»
«Okay. Anything else?»
I pulled up my laptop and started typing. «I’m sending you documentation of every payment Meridian has made on their behalf. Bank records, transaction histories, everything. I want you to prepare a comprehensive report.»
«For what?»
«I’m going to gift it to them. Right around the time their wedding bills start bouncing.»
«You’re really going nuclear on this.»
«They declared war when they forged my signature. I’m just finishing what they started.»
