Chapter 5 - The House She Tried to Take
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
I stood beside the kitchen table, holding my phone while Maya watched me anxiously.
"What do you mean, my house?" I demanded.
Calvin Price lowered his voice.
"Denise submitted documents involving your property."
My chest tightened.
"What documents?"
"A proposed home-equity application."
I looked around my kitchen.
The home Alicia and I had bought together.
The walls we'd painted ourselves.
The place where Maya had taken her first steps.
I felt physically sick.
"Denise doesn't own this house."
Calvin hesitated.
"She represented herself as having authority to arrange financing."
"She doesn't."
"Then you need an attorney to review the paperwork immediately."
I paced across the kitchen.
"Did she borrow money against my house?"
"I don't know whether the lender approved the loan."
"Then tell me exactly what you know."
He was silent for a moment.
"She approached me about obtaining money quickly. At first she mentioned the vehicle and a savings account. Later she brought estate records and asked whether property-related financing was possible."
I stopped walking.
"Did you help her?"
"I gave her general information."
"Did you know she was using forged documents?"
"I didn't prepare the signatures," he answered quickly.
That wasn't a denial that he knew.
I felt my anger rising.
"Why are you calling me now?"
His breathing became uneven.
"Because Denise told me you approved everything. When I learned there was a police report, I realized that might not be true."
I stared at the wall.
"You should speak to the police."
"Mr. Williams—"
"And my attorney."
He didn't answer.
"Don't call my daughter. Don't contact her. If you have documents, preserve them."
I ended the call.
Maya was standing beside me.
"Dad, are we going to lose our house?"
The fear in her voice nearly broke me.
I took both her hands.
"I'm going to make sure nobody takes this home from us without a fight."
I didn't promise that everything would be easy.
But I promised something I could control.
I would not ignore another warning.
The next morning, Evelyn arrived at my office carrying a thick folder.
She brought another attorney, Daniel Brooks, who specialized in financial disputes and property fraud.
We sat around the conference table at my repair business.
I had spent twenty years building that company.
Some days, I'd worked fourteen hours.
I thought of every missed dinner, every late pickup, every time I'd told Maya I was doing it for our future.
Now I wondered whether my work had given Denise the opportunity to hurt her.
Daniel spread documents across the table.
"Marcus, here's what we know."
He pointed to the first page.
"The vehicle sale appears to involve a questionable signature and possibly improper title paperwork. We need the dealership's complete file."
He moved to another document.
"The thirty-eight-thousand-dollar withdrawal is under review."
Then he placed a third page in front of me.
"We've learned that someone submitted a preliminary home-equity loan application using your personal information."
I stared at the copy.
My name.
My address.
My income.
My business details.
All accurate.
Except the signature.
"That's not mine."
Daniel nodded.
"We'll challenge it and notify the lender's fraud department. Preliminary review indicates no loan funds have been disbursed."
I leaned backward.
For the first time in two days, I breathed a little easier.
"How much was requested?"
"Two hundred and ten thousand dollars."
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
"Two hundred and ten thousand?"
He nodded.
I looked at Evelyn.
"Why would she need that much?"
Evelyn exchanged a glance with Daniel.
"We don't know yet."
But I had a terrible suspicion.
Denise wasn't trying to buy furniture.
She wasn't simply helping Tasha.
She needed a large amount of money.
And she needed it quickly.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Tasha.
"Can we talk without Mom?"
I showed Evelyn.
She read it.
"She may have information. Ask whether she's willing to speak with us voluntarily. No pressure."
I sent a reply.
"Come to the office at noon. My attorney will be here."
Tasha arrived twenty minutes late.
She looked nothing like the confident young woman who'd stood beside Denise in my driveway.
Her eyes were swollen.
Her hands shook.
She sat across from us without meeting my eyes.
"I didn't know she was taking that much," she whispered.
I studied her.
"How much did you know?"
She swallowed.
"I knew about the car."
Maya's face flashed through my mind.
"You knew Denise planned to sell it?"
Tasha nodded.
"And you didn't stop her."
"No."
"Why?"
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Because I wanted the furniture."
The honesty hurt.
At least she hadn't lied.
I waited.
"What about the college money?"
Tasha wiped her nose.
"Mom said it was a family investment account."
"And you believed her?"
"She said you agreed."
I looked at her.
"Did you ever ask me?"
"No."
"Did you ask Maya?"
She shook her head.
I leaned forward.
"Then you chose not to know."
Tasha began crying harder.
"I know."
For a moment, I wanted to shout.
But Daniel gently interrupted.
"Tasha, do you have information about the property application?"
She stared at him.
"Yes."
I went still.
She reached into her purse and removed a small notebook.
"Mom kept writing numbers in this."
Daniel took it carefully.
"What are these?"
"Payments."
"Payments to whom?"
Tasha looked at me.
"To Calvin."
My stomach dropped.
She pointed to a page.
"Mom said she owed him money from some business deal."
"How much?"
Tasha hesitated.
"Almost a hundred thousand dollars."
I stared at her.
"From what business deal?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know everything."
Daniel asked another question.
"Why did she need the condo?"
Tasha began twisting her fingers.
"Mom said the condo would help her move money safely."
I felt a chill.
"What does that mean?"
"She said property was better than leaving cash sitting in accounts."
Evelyn and Daniel exchanged looks.
Then Tasha whispered something else.
"She was planning to sell the condo after the mortgage went through."
I leaned forward.
"Why?"
"She said we could move somewhere else. Somewhere you couldn't find us."
The room became deathly quiet.
I stared at Tasha.
"Find you?"
She nodded miserably.
"Mom told me that after everything was finished, we were going to leave."
"Everything?"
She started crying again.
"She said you would be too busy trying to save the house to come after us."
I couldn't move.
My own wife had planned to leave me in financial ruin.
And she'd intended to take my daughter's inheritance with her.
I thought of Maya eating dinner alone while Denise smiled across the table.
I thought of the wedding vows I'd spoken five years earlier.
Then I looked at Tasha.
"Where is your mother now?"
Tasha lifted her head.
"I don't know."
My phone rang.
It was Officer Daniels.
"Mr. Williams, we need to speak with you."
My chest tightened.
"What's happened?"
"We received a report concerning your wife's vehicle."
I stood immediately.
"Is she hurt?"
"No. But the vehicle was located at an airport parking facility."
I closed my eyes.
He continued.
"The parking receipt indicates she may have been preparing to travel."
I looked at Evelyn.
"Was she alone?"
Officer Daniels paused.
"That's what we're trying to determine."
Then he added something that made my stomach turn.
"Mr. Williams, security records show she purchased two airline tickets."
"Two?"
"Yes."
I stared at Tasha.
She stared back, equally shocked.
Neither of us knew who Denise intended to take with her.
May you like
But I was certain of one thing.
She wasn't finished taking from my family.
