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MY SON HIT ME THIRTY TIMES IN THE MANSION I BOUGHT FOR HIM, WHILE HIS WIFE WATCHED ME BLEED AND SAID, “THROW THE OLD PARASITE INTO THE STREET.” I DIDN’T FIGHT BACK. THE NEXT MORNING, I SIGNED ONE DOCUMENT—AND BY NOON, THEY FINALLY LEARNED WHOSE HOUSE THEY HAD BEEN LIVING IN / Chapter 22 / 25

Chapter 22 - A Smaller House

I sold my Galveston condo.

Bought a smaller one story home outside Houston.

Not because money.

Because stairs annoyed my knee.

Neighbors knew me as Frank.

Not Franklin Reeves, developer.

I grew tomatoes badly.

Volunteered twice a month at workforce nonprofit.

No celebrity.

No memoir.

No public revenge tour.

People asked what happened to mansion.

“Sold.”

That was enough.

The property became three modern homes.

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