Chapter 5 - THE AGREEMENT BENEATH HER CONDO SALE
Patricia brought the storage box to Lena’s office.
Inside were closing papers from her condominium, Northbank bank statements and a handwritten agreement signed by Ethan.
The agreement promised that Patricia’s $228,000 would be held in escrow until a half-interest in my house could be legally transferred to her.
It also stated that if the transfer did not occur within six months, Ethan would return every dollar with interest.
He had signed it before receiving the money.
For months, Patricia believed the agreement protected her. When Ethan missed the deadline, he showed her a copy of the forged deed.
She never verified it independently.
“You practiced real-estate law,” Patricia told me. “He said you had prepared everything.”
“Why didn’t you ask me?”
“Because he said you didn’t want me here.”
That answer was not enough.
Lena opened the final envelope in the box. It contained an unsigned letter Patricia had written to me three months earlier.
Ava, Ethan says you changed your mind about my share. I need to know whether you ever intended to honor our agreement.
She had never sent it.
“I was afraid of the answer,” Patricia said.
The major twist was not that Ethan had fooled two women equally.
Patricia had reached the edge of the truth and deliberately stepped back.
She helped him create the false affidavit because accepting the forged deed meant she could continue believing her retirement still existed. She became harsher toward me each time doubt returned.
“I didn’t know about Brooke,” she said. “I didn’t know he spent the money.”
“But you knew I hadn’t signed in front of you.”
“Yes.”
The word cost her something.
It did not restore what she had taken from me.
Lena explained that Patricia could sue Ethan for fraud and seek restitution. Her cooperation might also reduce her civil exposure regarding the false affidavit, but it would not erase it.
Patricia looked toward me. “Will you testify that he lied to both of us?”
“I’ll testify to the truth.”
“Does that include saying I helped him?”
“Yes.”
She nodded, though her eyes filled again.
The investigation into Northbank revealed another consequence. Ethan had not used only Patricia’s money. He had diverted $46,000 from client deposits at his employer, disguising them as consulting payments to Northbank.
His company placed him on leave and notified law enforcement.
He had planned to close the fraudulent home-equity line, replace the client funds, repay part of Patricia’s money and leave the marriage before anyone compared dates.
The proposed divorce settlement was not an angry decision made over an empty dinner table.
It was the final piece of a financial cover-up.
Ethan requested mediation through his attorney.
He offered to consent to the divorce and leave the house if I withdrew the assault complaint and agreed not to provide Northbank records to his employer.
Lena finished reading the proposal.
“He’s still trying to purchase silence with property he never owned.”
May you like
I refused.
For the first time, Ethan would have to sit in a room where every person knew a different part of his story.
