“That is useful.”
“It feels humiliating.”
“It can be both.”
She explained the plan. We would send formal letters by registered mail to my parents, my
brother, and every adult relative who had participated in the chat. The letter would state that I was the sole owner, that nobody had permission to enter, use, advertise, lend, or occupy the property, and that future attempts would be treated as trespass.
I would change the locks.
I would update the alarm.
I would install visible cameras.
I would call the lake association and remove my parents from every emergency contact field.
And I would not send one more emotional message.
“Let the paper do the talking,” Soraya said. “Paper does not get tired. Paper does not cry. Paper does not get guilted by its mother.”
I almost laughed.
Almost.
On the way home, I stopped at a hardware store in Cornelius and bought two smart locks, a door alarm, three floodlights, and four indoor cameras. The cashier looked at my cart and said, “Big security project?”
