I knocked. Mara opened it and stared at me like she’d seen a ghost. Then recognition hit, and she froze.

Mark turned at the silence.

He didn’t react as strongly. He looked like a man expecting something unpleasant, just unsure when it would arrive.

“Ar… Arnold?” Mara gasped.

I looked at the worker nearby.

“How much longer?”

He checked his clipboard. “Process is finalized, Sir. We’re just clearing the remaining items.”

I turned back to them.

“This property belongs to me now,” I said, letting the silence settle.

They stood there, absorbing it.

Mara’s hands shook. Mark said nothing. He looked like he wanted to explain—but there was nothing I needed to hear anymore.

I explained briefly. The sketches. The patent. The company. The years of quiet work while they built something else entirely.

“You bought this house?” Mara asked.

“My company identified it. I didn’t know who owned it until I saw the documents.”

She looked at me, then at my leg. Then came the question I expected.

“I made a mistake, Arnie. I was wrong. Our daughters… Can I see them? Just once?”

I met her gaze calmly.

“They stopped waiting for you a long time ago. I made sure they didn’t have to.”

Silence settled again.

Behind us, movers continued their work.

Mark finally spoke.

“It wasn’t supposed to go like this, man. Things just… didn’t work out. I made some bad calls, alright? I thought I had it handled.”

Mara snapped at him, exhaustion and anger spilling out.

“Don’t start. You promised me this would work. You said you had it all figured out. Look at us now.”

I had nothing left to say.

“There’s nothing left here. For any of us.”

“Arnold, wait…please,” Mara called. “You can’t do this. This is our home.”

Mark stepped forward, desperate. “We’ll figure something out. Just… give us time. Don’t throw us out like this.”

I didn’t respond. I got back into the truck.

For a moment, I sat there. Then I called the lead mover.

“I need the keys by five.”

A pause. “Understood, Sir.”