“What did you do?” Diane gasped. “Two men from the management office just knocked on my door. They handed me a three-day notice!”

“That has nothing to do with me, Diane,” I said.

“They said my lease guarantee has been revoked!” Diane screamed. “They said the estate account is frozen! I have seventy-two hours to pay forty-thousand dollars or they will lock me out!”

In the background, I could hear Karen crying and shouting about her velvet sofa.

“You need to call the bank right now, Tessa!” Diane yelled. “Tell them it was a mistake! Brent said you agreed to this!”

“I never agreed to anything, Diane,” I said. “Brent forged my signature.”

“He did it for us!” Diane cried. “We are your family, Tessa! You can’t let them throw us out in the snow!”

“You are not my family,” I said.

Before Diane could scream again, a loud, sharp knock sounded on Molly’s front door.

I tapped the red button on my screen, cutting off Diane’s voice mid-shriek.

The kitchen fell dead silent, save for the low hum of Molly’s refrigerator.