Chapter 5 - TWO MILLION DOLLARS
By noon, I was sitting inside a law office.
I had never needed a lawyer before.
Now I apparently needed several.
The first attorney, Daniel Reeves, specialized in financial fraud.
He was in his early forties, calm, precise, and not remotely interested in my emotions.
At first, that irritated me.
Then I realized it was exactly what I needed.
He read the shareholder agreement.
The fake lease.
The bank documentation.
The credit report.
Then he asked me the same question three different ways.
“Did you ever authorize Simon Hart to use your signature?”
“No.”
“Did you ever authorize him to open business accounts in your name?”
“No.”
“Did you ever give him power of attorney?”
“No.”
He leaned back.
“Good.”
“Why is that good?”
“Because clarity matters.”
He tapped the papers.
“This is not a messy breakup dispute.”
My stomach tightened.
“What is it?”
“Potential identity theft.”
Another tap.
“Forgery.”
Another.
“Possible bank fraud.”
Another.
“Potential loan fraud.”
He paused.
“And depending on where the money came from and where it went, possibly more.”
Melissa was sitting beside me.
“What do we do?”
Daniel looked at me.
“We preserve everything.”
“Then?”
“We stop communicating with Simon verbally unless I advise otherwise.”
“He keeps calling.”
“Let him.”
“He knows where my sister lives.”
Daniel’s expression sharpened.
“Has he threatened you?”
“Not directly.”
“Anything that made you feel unsafe?”
I thought about his message.
You’ll regret making this ugly.
Daniel wrote it down.
“Do not delete that.”
“I won’t.”
He asked where Simon worked.
I told him.
He asked what Simon did.
“Financial operations for a logistics company.”
Daniel stopped writing.
“That gives him access to financial systems?”
“Some.”
“Has he ever handled investment documentation professionally?”
“Yes.”
“Contracts?”
“Yes.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“That explains skill.”
It was horrible hearing Simon discussed that way.
As if the abilities I had admired were tools used against me.
My phone buzzed.
Patricia.
Daniel held out his hand.
I passed him the phone.
The message read:
Rachel, please stop this before you ruin Simon’s life over a relationship dispute.
Daniel gave the phone back.
“Do not answer.”
Two minutes later another message arrived.
You benefited from everything he built.
Daniel photographed it.
Then another.
A good woman would handle this privately.
Melissa almost exploded.
Daniel simply said, “Keep them coming.”
At 1:47 p.m., Simon called.
At 1:52.
At 2:03.
At 2:04.
At 2:06.
Then he left a voicemail.
Daniel listened.
Simon sounded controlled.
“Rachel, you need to call me.”
Pause.
“Leonard is lying to you.”
Pause.
“You signed those documents.”
Pause.
“You may not remember every document because we handled a lot together.”
Pause.
“I don’t want this to become a legal problem.”
Daniel stopped the recording.
“That last sentence is useful.”
“How?”
“He knows it already is one.”
That evening, I returned to Melissa’s house.
Milo met me at the door.
For ten minutes, I sat on the floor with him.
No banks.
No lawyers.
No fake signatures.
Just fur, warm breath, and the one living creature in my life who had never lied to me.
Then the doorbell rang.
Melissa looked through the peephole.
Her face changed.
“It’s Simon.”
I stood.
Daniel had told me not to speak with him.
Simon rang again.
Then knocked.
“Rachel.”
I stayed silent.
“I know you’re in there.”
Melissa grabbed her phone.
“Do I call the police?”
“Not yet.”
“Rachel.”
Simon knocked harder.
“I just want to talk.”
I walked toward the door but didn’t open it.
“What do you want?”
His voice immediately softened.
“There you are.”
“What do you want?”
“Open the door.”
“No.”
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
Silence.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Leonard stole money.”
I froze.
“He’s trying to blame me.”
I said nothing.
“He convinced me to structure things under your name.”
My skin went cold.
“You just admitted using my name.”
“No.”
He exhaled hard.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?”
“You were supposed to be protected.”
“From what?”
“Taxes.”
I almost laughed.
“Two million dollars in loans protected me from taxes?”
“They were company liabilities.”
“In my name?”
“Technically.”
Melissa stared at me.
I held up one finger.
“Simon, did you forge my signature?”
“No.”
“Did your mother?”
Silence.
I had guessed.
But the silence changed everything.
“Simon.”
“My mother was trying to help.”
I shut my eyes.
“With what?”
“Rachel, open the door.”
“No.”
“She believed we were getting married anyway.”
My chest tightened.
“So she signed for me?”
“She didn’t forge your name.”
“What did she do?”
He stopped answering.
I looked through the peephole.
Simon stood with both hands against the doorframe.
He looked exhausted.
For nine years, I had never seen him so small.
Then a car pulled into the driveway.
Simon turned.
Patricia got out.
Of course.
She walked toward the porch.
“Rachel.”
I almost laughed.
A family meeting.
Except this time I wasn’t sitting at their dinner table pretending their jokes didn’t hurt.
Patricia stopped behind Simon.
“We need five minutes.”
“You’ve had nine years.”
“This affects all of us.”
“No.”
I kept my hand on the deadbolt.
“This affects me.”
Patricia’s voice softened.
“I made a mistake.”
That surprised me.
Simon turned sharply.
“Mom.”
“Quiet.”
I looked at Melissa.
She was already recording.
Patricia continued.
“Years ago, Simon needed capital for a business opportunity.”
“What business opportunity?”
“Hart-Voss.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“You knew my name was used?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Why?”
“Because Leonard required a second partner with stable income and excellent credit.”
I closed my eyes.
“You used me.”
“We expected you and Simon to marry.”
“So?”
“So eventually it would have belonged to both of you.”
The logic was so twisted I almost couldn’t process it.
“You committed fraud because you assumed I would marry your son.”
“We did not think of it that way.”
“How did you think of it?”
“As building your future.”
I laughed.
“You keep saying that.”
Patricia’s voice hardened.
“Because it’s true.”
“Did you sign my name?”
Another silence.
Then she answered.
“Once.”
Simon swore.
Melissa’s eyes widened.
“On what?”
Patricia did not answer immediately.
“On a preliminary partnership document.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Simon turned.
“Mom, stop talking.”
That was when I knew she was lying.
“Anything else?”
Patricia’s face changed.
Just enough.
Simon grabbed her arm.
“We’re leaving.”
She pulled away.
Then she looked at the door.
“There was one other document.”
I felt my pulse in my throat.
“What document?”
“Life insurance.”
Everything went silent.
Even Simon stopped moving.
I stared at the door.
“What life insurance?”
Patricia whispered.
“A policy Simon took out when the business loans were finalized.”
“How much?”
No answer.
“How much?”
Simon stepped toward the door.
“Rachel, don’t.”
Patricia said it before he could stop her.
“One million dollars.”
I gripped the wall.
“On whom?”
May you like
Patricia’s next words changed the direction of everything.
“On you.”
