Chapter 8 - THE DECISION THAT COULDN’T BE UNDONE
Marianne filed an identity-theft report with the Savannah Police Department on Friday morning.
The officer did not promise an arrest. He collected the documents, explained that financial cases required records and review, and gave her a report number for the bank.
Laura submitted the report to the credit union and sent preservation notices to Coastal Printworks, its server provider, and the company that held Derek’s equipment lease.
Once the notices were delivered, deleting records could create a separate problem for whoever attempted it.
Marianne also signed a new will, removed Derek from every financial role, and named an independent trust company to manage any major lottery proceeds.
The paperwork felt colder than anger.
It was also harder to reverse.
At three that afternoon, Derek called from the shop.
“You reported me to the police?”
“I reported my forged signature.”
“You know what that does to my business?”
“You knew what the loan could do to my home.”
“I was going to pay it back.”
“With money you planned to take from me?”
His breathing changed.
“So you did win.”
Marianne closed her eyes.
He had been waiting for confirmation.
“That’s what matters to you?”
“You’re sitting on enough money to save the shop while you let strangers tear apart my life.”
“The shop is not your life.”
“It was Dad’s dream for me.”
Thomas had encouraged Derek to build something of his own. He had never told him that failure made theft acceptable.
Derek lowered his voice.
“Where’s the ticket?”
Marianne looked through the window at the live oaks bending over the street.
“Somewhere you can’t reach it.”
A hard sound came through the phone, followed by Derek swearing. He had struck something near him.
“Naomi took records,” he said. “She’s the criminal here.”
“You were the patient.”
“She told me what to say.”
The accusation arrived too quickly, as if rehearsed.
Before Marianne could answer, the line went dead.
That night, someone attempted to access her lottery account, email, and credit-union profile within twelve minutes.
All three attempts came from an internet connection registered to Coastal Printworks.
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Derek had stopped asking his mother to trust him.
Now he was racing to reach the money before the evidence reached him.
