CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 4
Judith stood so quickly her chair scraped across the floor.
“That cannot be true.”
I looked at her.
“It is.”
“No,” she snapped. “Daniel told us you were adding him to the deed.”
“Daniel told you many things.”
Vanessa’s face turned red.
“You said she agreed,” she whispered to him.
Daniel glared at her.
“I said be quiet.”
The officer tightened his grip.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Daniel breathed hard through his nose, finally understanding that the room was no longer his.
Judith turned to the officers.
“My son is a respected businessman.”
I said, “His business has been insolvent for eleven months.”
Everyone looked at me.
Daniel went pale.
I opened the second folder Rachel, my attorney, had prepared.
Bank records.
Rejected transfer attempts.
Forged authorization requests.
A loan application using my house as collateral.
A signature that was supposed to be mine.
“I found the refinance application yesterday morning,” I said. “Daniel filed it two days after breaking my arm.”
Judith’s lips parted.
Vanessa whispered, “You told me Claire wanted to help.”
I looked at her.
“Did you really believe that? Or did you just need the money badly enough not to ask?”
Vanessa’s eyes filled, but I felt nothing soft inside me.
Not yet.
The second officer reviewed the paperwork.
“Mrs. Mercer, your attorney provided copies of these to financial crimes.”
Daniel barked a laugh.
“Financial crimes? Over family money?”
I looked at him.
“You tried to forge my name on a loan against my house after injuring me for stopping a transfer.”
He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
The ugly thing about truth is that sometimes it does not need to shout. It only needs to sit on the table long enough for everyone to see it.
The officer turned Daniel around.
“You’re coming with us.”
Judith grabbed her son’s sleeve.
“Nathaniel, please, there must be a mistake.”
Daniel hated his full name. I had not heard it in years.
For one second, he looked like a boy caught stealing from his mother’s purse.
Then he looked at me.
“You did this.”
“No,” I said. “You did. I documented it.”
As they led him toward the foyer, he twisted back.
“You’ll regret humiliating me.”
The officer stopped walking.
“Was that a threat?”
Daniel finally shut his mouth.
The door closed behind him.
The house went quiet.
May you like
But not peaceful.
Not yet.
