Page 74 of My Fiancé's Brother 2

I stood still for a long moment. “I’ll get back to you okay?”

“Thanks, Emily. I knew this was just a big misunderstanding.”

I hung up. Who was living in my loft? I had heard about squatters who took up residence in an empty property, but I could not believe that anyone would do that to my place.

I looked at Chloe who was lying at the foot of the bed looking more than just a bit pathetic. I called my lawyer who told me that we needed to investigate but if we wanted to do an eviction I needed to be present. My lawyer also told me that if the people in my loft had been there more than 30 days, we had a more significant problem on our hands, as they might be able to claim squatter rights.

“What does that mean?”

“It means, if they are there longer than 30 days, without protest from you, they legally have the right to stay there without your consent. And by law, we'll be unable to evict them.”

“Is that a joke?”

“I would advise you get down to New York as soon as possible.”

CHAPTER 25

I hatedto leave Chloe behind, but I felt even worse traveling with her in this state. I brought her to a dog sitter that I found online, a wonderful older woman who said that she'd baby Chloe like she was her own. She promised that she wouldn’t let Chloe out of her sight and that if there were any sign of trouble, she would rush Chloe to the vet.

I looked at Chloe who had already made herself at home, lying on the floor beside the couch. After double checking to make sure that the woman had my cell phone and the name of the vet, I crouched down beside Chloe in tears.

“I won’t be longer than two days.”

The woman patted my shoulder. “She’s going to be fine. You can call anytime to check up on her.”

I leftmy car at the dog sitter’s and took a cab to the airport with only a carry on and booked the first flight I could get to New York. Once in New York, I rented a car at the airport and drove straight tothe loft. Just as my realtor had indicated, my keys to the loft didn’t work either. I couldn’t believe it.

I went back to my rental car and called my lawyer.

“I’m at my loft. My key doesn’t work. I've no idea what to do.”

“When is the last time you were at the loft?”

“I did a walk through with my realtor about three weeks ago. It was empty then.”

“Well, we can get a locksmith over there. And get you into the place. Legally, you have full rights over the place.”

“Okay.”

I watched as the garage door opened. “Wait. Someone is coming back to the loft.”

I watched from my rental car in shock as Julie and Matt pulled into the garage in Matt’s car.

“It’s Matt,” I said in complete shock.

“You know who is squatting in your place?”

“It’s my ex-fiancé. He used to live there with me. I had his stuff all moved out a few weeks ago when I had the place staged. But it looks like he’s living there with a friend of mine.”

Silence screamed down the line. My lawyer cleared his throat. “Oh. How long did you two live together?”

“We moved in together in October of last year. We lived together about eight months.”

“So did your ex-fiancé ever pay rent or help pay the mortgage?”

“No. I bought the place outright. Matt never contributed to any of the bills.”

“Was the water bill or electricity bill ever in his name? Any of the utilities?”

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