My Brother Sold My Lake Property for a Huge Profit — Then the Title Company CEO Showed Up

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My Brother Sold My Lake Property for a Huge Profit — Then the Title Company CEO Showed Up
‪‪@echoofwrath-w2y‬

The text arrived during my afternoon shift at the veterans' housing nonprofit. I was reviewing intake forms when my phone buzzed with the family group chat notification. My brother Marcus had sent a screenshot—a purchase agreement showing $1.4 million for the lake property. The property I'd bought eight years ago for $480,000. The property in my name. The property he had absolutely no legal right to sell.
Below the screenshot, the family reactions loaded in real-time. Mom: "So proud of your business mind!" Dad: "Always knew Marcus would be the successful one." My sister Elena: "Can't wait to see the Tesla! Red, right?" Marcus again: "Closing Wednesday at 2 PM. Buyers already hired contractors to start renovations Thursday. This is how you play the real estate game."
I stared at my phone screen in the nonprofit's small office, the afternoon sun cutting through the blinds in sharp lines. Eight years. Eight years since I'd bought that property with my signing bonus from my first real job. Eight years of Marcus calling it "your little cabin experiment." Eight years of family dinners where they'd say, "Still holding onto that money pit?"
The memory arrived with perfect clarity: Dad's living room, Sunday dinner, 2016. I'd just closed on the property. "A lake house?" Dad had laughed. "You'll be eaten alive by property taxes and maintenance. This is why women need financial advisors." Marcus had nodded sagely. "Real estate isn't for amateurs, sis. You'll learn."
I hadn't argued. I'd learned early that defending yourself to people who'd already written the narrative was like trying to hold water in your hands. It just exhausted you.
My phone buzzed again. Marcus: "Using the profit to finally start my tech company. Dad's investing too. This is what strategic asset management looks like."
I took a screenshot of everything. Then I opened my email and searched for "Prestige Title & Escrow." The company handling Marcus's fraudulent sale. I'd worked with them before—they'd handled all seven of my property acquisitions over the past eight years. Including the lake house Marcus was currently "flipping."
I found what I needed: the CEO's email from last month. Margaret Chen had personally thanked me for organizing the annual veterans' housing gala, the event that had raised $340,000 for transitional housing. She'd given the keynote speech. We'd spent twenty minutes discussing her father's service in Vietnam and how programs like ours had helped him transition home.

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