Austin’s fist struck the glass again.
“Open the door, Daniela.”
I remained in the lobby with the folder open in my hands.
My mother stood behind him in the same pale cardigan she had worn when she shut the door in my face.
Christina lingered near the curb, watching as though this were another family scene she could enjoy without becoming responsible for it.
Mr.
Spencer’s voice came through my phone.
“Is Austin there?”
“Yes.”
“Put me on speaker.”
I tapped the screen and raised the volume.
Mr.
Spencer did not shout.
That made his words land harder.
“Austin, stop hitting the glass.
The building has cameras, and Daniela does not owe you entry.”
Austin lowered his fist, but only because a security camera was mounted directly above him.
He leaned toward the door.
“This is family business.”
“No,” Mr.
Spencer replied.
“This is rental business.
And your family business has been paid for by your sister.”
My mother pressed her hand against the glass.
“Daniela, please.
The rent didn’t go through.
Something is wrong with your bank.”
I looked at her.
“Nothing is wrong with my bank.”
For the first time that morning, she seemed to understand that the failed payment had not been an accident.
Her expression changed from concern to anger.
“You canceled it?”
“Yes.”
“How could you do that to us?”
I almost laughed.
Less than twelve hours earlier, she had looked me in the eyes and told me I had the wrong house.
Now she was demanding to know how I could take money away from a home she had declared was not mine.
Austin pointed at the folder.
“What is that?”
I turned the first page toward the glass.
His rejected rental application was clipped to the front.
His signature appeared at the bottom, dark and unmistakable.
My mother looked from the paper to him.
“What application?”
Austin’s jaw tightened.
“It’s nothing.”
Mr.
Spencer answered before he could continue.
“Last year, Austin asked me to transfer the lease into his name.
I ran the standard screening.
He did not qualify.”
My mother stared at her son.
“You told me Mr.
Spencer refused because he didn’t rent to self-employed people.”
Austin turned on her immediately.
“I was protecting you from details you wouldn’t understand.”
