Chapter 6 - The Meeting That Changed Everything
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined strangers appearing at our front door.
I pictured Dad standing on the porch while someone told him the house no longer belonged to us.
I knew the situation was more complicated than that.
Samuel had explained that an unauthorized document didn't automatically transfer ownership.
But fear doesn't always listen to explanations.
Especially when your mother's name has been forged on paperwork dated years after her death.
At six the next morning, I found Dad in the kitchen.
He was already dressed.
His coffee sat untouched.
I sat across from him.
"Are we going to lose the house?"
He looked up.
"No one has shown that our home was validly transferred or pledged."
I nodded.
"But you're worried."
"Yes."
I appreciated his honesty.
He wasn't pretending everything was fine.
He was telling me the truth.
Samuel had arranged for the relevant parties to receive notice that the documents were disputed.
Dad would meet with him later that morning.
I wanted to go.
Dad hesitated.
"Jordan, you have class."
"I can miss one day."
He studied my face.
Then nodded.
"All right."
Claire came downstairs a few minutes later.
Her eyes were swollen.
She looked at Dad.
"Can I come too?"
He paused.
Then said:
"Yes. You need to hear everything."
Maya remained upstairs.
Dad had arranged for her to stay with her grandmother, Claire's mother, during the day.
He didn't want her involved in another confrontation.
And I didn't want to be responsible for comforting her while I was still trying to process what she'd done.
At nine o'clock, we arrived at Samuel's office.
The conference room was small.
A woman from the title company joined the meeting remotely.
She explained that Victor had circulated a proposed security agreement involving our property.
But the lender had not completed its verification process.
There were inconsistencies in the ownership information.
The signature attributed to Angela Williams was an obvious concern.
And the lender had requested additional proof of authority before proceeding.
I felt some relief.
"So the house hasn't been taken?"
Samuel shook his head.
"No. The recorded title remains unchanged, and we have no verified completed lien based on these documents."
Dad exhaled.
Claire began crying quietly.
But Samuel wasn't finished.
"Victor may have used the apparent property transaction to persuade someone to advance him money elsewhere."
I frowned.
"How?"
"He may have represented that he had access to assets he didn't control."
Dad rubbed his forehead.
"So this could be fraud."
"Potentially. Investigators will need to establish exactly what happened."
The title representative confirmed that the lender had suspended the proposed transaction pending review.
Samuel advised Dad to continue monitoring the property records and protect his personal information.
We left the meeting feeling exhausted but less helpless.
Then Dad received a phone call.
It was from a detective named Renee Carter.
She wanted to meet us regarding Victor's activities.
The following afternoon, Detective Carter came to our house.
She was calm, professional, and direct.
She asked Dad about the property documents.
She asked Claire about the business loan.
She asked Maya about Victor's threats.
And she asked me to explain the incident in the backyard.
I told her everything.
The boxes.
The broken folder.
Victor's reaction.
Maya grabbing my shirt.
Claire throwing my bag outside.
The security recording.
Detective Carter listened carefully.
Then she asked:
"Did Victor ever ask you to sign anything?"
I thought about it.
"No."
"Did he ask to borrow your identification?"
I shook my head.
Then I remembered something.
Two weeks earlier, Victor had offered to help me apply for a summer internship.
He said he knew someone at a company in Atlanta.
He asked me to email him my résumé.
I had included my full name, address, phone number, and date of birth.
My stomach tightened.
"I sent him a résumé."
Detective Carter made a note.
"Do you still have that email?"
"Yes."
"Please preserve it."
I nodded.
She explained that investigators were looking into several possible forms of financial misconduct.
She didn't reveal every detail.
But she confirmed that Victor's activities extended beyond our household.
That frightened me.
I had believed he was simply a dishonest relative.
Now it seemed he might have been using multiple people.
After the detective left, Claire sat beside me.
"Jordan, can we talk?"
I looked toward Dad.
He gave me a small nod.
I didn't have to say yes.
But I decided to listen.
Claire took a shaky breath.
"I've been thinking about what Maya said."
I remained silent.
"About the way I always defended Victor."
She looked down.
"She's right."
I studied her face.
Claire continued.
"When we were children, Victor was always getting into trouble."
She swallowed.
"Our mother expected me to protect him."
I frowned.
"Even when he was wrong?"
She nodded.
"Especially then."
Her voice cracked.
"I spent years believing that being a good sister meant fixing his mistakes."
I looked at her.
"And eventually you started pretending they weren't mistakes."
She closed her eyes.
"Yes."
For the first time, I felt that she was beginning to understand.
Not just Victor's behavior.
Her own.
"I let him into this house," she whispered.
"I trusted him with private information."
She wiped her eyes.
"And when he created a lie about you, I believed it because it came through Maya."
I nodded slowly.
Claire looked directly at me.
"That was wrong."
I felt my throat tighten.
She continued.
"I should have asked questions. I should have listened. And I should never have touched your belongings or threatened you."
For several seconds, I said nothing.
Then I asked:
"Would you have believed me without the camera?"
Claire began crying.
"I don't know."
The answer hurt.
But I appreciated that she didn't lie.
She lowered her head.
"That's what frightens me most."
I looked away.
For the first time, her apology sounded real.
Not because she promised everything would be fine.
Because she admitted something terrible about herself.
"I need time," I said.
She nodded.
"I understand."
That evening, Maya approached me in the hallway.
She was holding a small notebook.
"Jordan, can I show you something?"
I hesitated.
"What is it?"
She opened the notebook.
Inside were dates.
Times.
Short descriptions.
Every conversation she'd had with Victor over the previous three weeks.
She had written them down after the backyard incident.
I looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to forget anything."
She swallowed.
"And because I want to help prove what he did."
I studied the pages.
There were entries about Victor searching Dad's office.
About his threats.
About the fake school screenshots.
And about the afternoon he told Maya to accuse me.
Then I noticed a date near the bottom.
Two days before the incident.
Beside it were six words.
"Victor met someone at the church."
I frowned.
"What church?"
Maya looked frightened.
"The one where your mom's memorial service was held."
My stomach tightened.
"Why would he go there?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
May you like
Then she added:
"But he came home carrying a box with your mother's name on it."
