The room seemed to grow colder as the words settled.

“That’s not legal,” Richard barked, his eyes scanning the page frantically. “I drafted the original operating agreement myself.”

“And you left a loophole wide enough to drive a semi-truck through, Richard,” I said.

“My attorney filed the transfer paperwork with the state registry yesterday morning,” I added.

Margaret looked at her husband, her perfect composure beginning to crack. “Richard? Is this true?”

“It can’t be,” Richard muttered, though his hand was shaking as he adjusted his reading glasses.

“It is very true,” I said, looking directly at Daniel.

“This house belongs to the LLC, and I now control the LLC.”

Daniel stared at me, his eyes wide with a mixture of anger and fear.

“You can’t kick me out of my own house, Emily,” he said, his voice cracking.

“Actually, I can,” I said. “But we will get to that in a moment.”

Sophia stood up, her small designer handbag clutching tight against her side.

“Wait a minute,” Sophia said, looking at Daniel. “You told me she refused to help you with the business.”