I froze.
“A listing?”
“Yes. They said you were thinking of selling and wanted to move quickly. You have a beautiful property. Should get a lot of offers.”
I could feel my pulse in my neck.
“You need to leave now and don’t come back unless I call you personally.”
He looked startled.
“I… of course. Sorry. I must have misunderstood.”
“No,” I said quietly, watching him walk back to his car. “You didn’t misunderstand. They did.”
When he drove off, I just stood there on the porch staring at my front door.
My parents had crossed a line.
It wasn’t just pressure anymore.
They were making moves behind my back.
I called my dad immediately.
“Why was there a realtor taking pictures of my house?” I demanded.
My dad didn’t even sound guilty.
“Oh, good. He found the place. I told him to swing by when he had a minute.”
“Without asking me?”
“You weren’t answering our calls,” he said.
Like that excused it.
“We figured you needed a little push.”
A little push.
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
“If you ever send someone to my property again, I’ll call the police. Do you understand me?”
There was a long pause.
“Evan,” my dad said finally, his voice low. “Don’t do something you’ll regret. Family comes first. We’re just trying to help your sister.”