Chapter 3 - The House Was Already at Risk
Valeria called the bank at 8:03 the next morning.
By 9:17, she was sitting in a conference room at a downtown branch with Gabriel and a fraud specialist named Denise Cooper.
Denise did not tell Valeria the signatures were forged.
She did not tell her the debt would disappear.
She told her what the bank could establish.
A home equity line existed.
Its outstanding balance was $163,400.
A commercial guarantee bearing Valeria’s name supported debt from Mauricio’s company.
Several documents had been submitted electronically.
Others contained wet signatures.
Valeria’s identification had been used.
“So somebody stole my identity?”
Denise chose her words carefully.
“We have an authorization dispute involving accounts and obligations connected to your spouse. We’ll need to investigate before making conclusions.”
“What happens to my house?”
“Nothing automatically happens today.”
“Can they foreclose?”
“If the underlying obligations default, there could eventually be consequences. But there are procedures, disputes and timelines. Right now, the important thing is preserving records.”
Valeria hated the word eventually.
It contained too much room for disaster.
She froze her credit with all three bureaus before lunch.
Changed every financial password.
Redirected her paycheck into a new account.
Requested complete statements going back five years.
Then she called an attorney.
Not a divorce attorney first.
A financial fraud attorney.
By late afternoon, Mauricio knew.
He appeared outside her office building.
Valeria refused to get into his car.
So they stood beneath the stone awning while employees walked past them.
“You froze everything,” he said.
“My credit.”
“Our accounts.”
“I moved my salary.”
“You’re going to destroy my company.”
Valeria stared at him.
“You slapped me at my promotion dinner.”
His eyes dropped.
“I’m sorry.”
“You forged my signature.”
“I didn’t.”
She stopped.
“What?”
“I didn’t forge anything.”
“Then who did?”
He looked toward Wacker Drive.
Cars hissed across wet pavement.
“Mauricio.”
“I made mistakes.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“I borrowed money.”
“In my name?”
“I thought I could put it back.”
“You thought?”
“My business had payroll due. We were going to lose everything.”
“So you used our house.”
“It’s my house too.”
“My signature is on documents I never signed.”
He rubbed his face.
“Gabriel is making this look worse.”
“Did you take my bonuses?”
“We’re married.”
Valeria almost laughed.
“That is not how consent works.”
“You benefited from the business when it was doing well.”
“And you decided that meant you could take whatever you wanted?”
He looked exhausted.
For one second, Valeria saw the man she had married.
Then he said, “If you report this as fraud, you could bankrupt us both.”
Us.
Not me.
Not the company.
Us.
Valeria realized he still believed her fear of losing the house would make her protect him.
“Did Teresa forge my signature?”
Mauricio’s head jerked toward her.
Too quickly.
Valeria saw it.
“You know who did.”
“I said I didn’t forge it.”
“Then tell me who did.”
He stepped backward.
“I can’t.”
May you like
Valeria watched him walk toward his car.
That answer frightened her more than a denial would have.
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