I called Rachel before Marcus could say anything else.
She answered after four rings.
“Evan?”
“Did you approach Marcus about selling Dad's property?”
Silence.
Then a slow breath.
“Yes.”
Mom closed her eyes.
Marcus sat down.
I stepped away from the table.
“Why?”
“Because I knew about the debts.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I thought selling the property was the only way out.”
“You knew it belonged to the trust.”
“I knew.”
“And you knew Marcus was using my name.”
“I knew he was trying to.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“You all knew.”
Rachel began crying.
“I didn't know how bad it had become.”
“You knew enough.”
“I was scared.”
“So was I.”
She went quiet.
I asked, “Why did you tell me to look at the documents?”
“Because I couldn't keep lying.”
“Why now?”
“Because Marcus told me the developer wanted the land.”
I looked toward the dining table.
“How much?”
“Enough to pay everyone.”
“Everyone?”
Rachel hesitated.
“My student loans. Mom's mortgage. Marcus's business debts.”
“And me?”
“You'd get your money back.”
I almost laughed.
“You planned to sell my father's property and use the proceeds to reimburse me for money I never should have had to give.”
“I know how it sounds.”
“It sounds exactly like what it is.”
She cried harder.
“I thought I was helping.”
I ended the call.
Marcus watched me.
“You're angry with Rachel.”
“I'm angry with all of you.”
He nodded.
“I deserve that.”
I sat down.
For the first time since he had walked in, he didn't defend himself.
“Tell me everything.”
He stared at the floor.
The story came out slowly.
The company had started with three small contracts. Then one large project was delayed. Costs rose. A subcontractor disappeared with a deposit. Marcus borrowed money to cover payroll.
Then he borrowed again.
By the time he realized the business was beyond repair, he had already invested everything he had.
“I didn't want Mom to know.”
“She knew.”
“I know that now.”
“And Rachel?”
“She found out six months later.”
I looked at him.
“What happened to Dad's property?”
Marcus rubbed his eyes.
“I mentioned it to Rachel.”
“She contacted the developer?”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
“I agreed to meet them.”
“Did you sign anything?”
“No.”
That was the first piece of good news.
But there was another problem.
Daniel called while we were still talking.
He had reviewed the county records.
The trust was still valid.
However, someone had submitted a document claiming I had resigned as trustee.
I nearly dropped the phone.
“I never resigned.”
“I know,” Daniel said.
“Who submitted it?”
“We're investigating.”
“Could Marcus have done it?”
“I don't know.”
I looked at my brother.
He shook his head before I even asked.
“No.”
I believed him.
For the first time, I realized there might be another person involved.
Daniel asked me to come to his office the next morning.
I agreed.
Before bed, I went back through Dad's old files.
There were gaps.
Important gaps.
The trust had been created shortly before Dad's death.
Mom had told me the paperwork was simple.
It wasn't.
There were three trustees listed.
Dad.
Mom.
And me.
But after Dad died, the documents showed that Mom had become temporary trustee.
I had never seen that page.
At the bottom was a clause stating that if Mom became unable or unwilling to administer the trust, I would assume control.
I read it twice.
Then I noticed a handwritten notation in Dad's handwriting.
*Only release the property when all beneficiaries agree.**
That meant Marcus couldn't sell it.
Rachel couldn't sell it.
Mom couldn't sell it.
And I couldn't sell it alone.
The developer had been negotiating for something they couldn't legally receive.
Unless someone had found a way around the trust.
The next morning, Daniel spread the documents across his conference table.
“There are two separate issues,” he said.
“Which are?”
“The forged guarantee and the attempted trustee resignation.”
“Who filed the resignation?”
Daniel slid a document toward me.
The name of the submitting attorney was printed at the top.
I recognized it.
It was the attorney Mom had hired after Dad died.
“That's impossible.”
Daniel nodded.
“I thought so too.”
I looked closer.
The filing had been made seven months ago.
Seven months.
That was before Marcus told Rachel about the developer.
Before Victor lent him the money.
Before I knew any of this.
“Who instructed the attorney?”
Daniel pointed to a line.
Mom's name appeared there.
I looked at her.
She had accompanied me to the office.
Her face went white.
“I didn't sign that.”
Daniel looked at her carefully.
“Are you saying you did not authorize this filing?”
“Yes.”
I turned to Mom.
“Then someone used your identity too.”
She began shaking.
Marcus stood.
“No.”
“What?”
He looked at the document.
“I know who did it.”
We all stared at him.
He swallowed.
“It wasn't me.”
“Then who?”
He looked at Mom.
“Uncle Raymond.”
Mom's expression collapsed.
I had not heard that name in years.
Raymond was Dad's older brother.
And he had been absent from our lives since the funeral.
“What does Raymond have to do with the property?”
Marcus whispered the answer.
“He owns the development company.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 7: The Man Behind the Development Deal Was My Father’s Brother, and He Had Been Waiting Years for the Land to Become Vulnerable
The Night My Brother Called for Money, I Realized My Family Had Never Learned What My Help Cost Me
Part 6 of 20
