{"id":11793,"date":"2026-09-16T17:04:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T17:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=11793"},"modified":"2026-09-16T17:04:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T17:04:25","slug":"part-12-aunt-linda-came-to-explain-her-part-in-shanes-scheme-but-patricias-missing-checkbook-exposed-a-betrayal-even-she-had-not-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=11793","title":{"rendered":"PART 12 \u2013 Aunt Linda Came to Explain Her Part in Shane\u2019s Scheme, but Patricia\u2019s Missing Checkbook Exposed a Betrayal Even She Had Not Expected"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Daniel wanted to contact Aunt Linda through him.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia refused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is precisely why you should be cautious,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to hear her explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can hear her explain it without meeting privately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So Wednesday afternoon, Aunt Linda came to Daniel\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>She arrived fifteen minutes early.<\/p>\n<p>I had expected defensiveness.<\/p>\n<p>Instead she looked terrified.<\/p>\n<p>She carried a canvas tote against her chest and sat across from us without removing her coat.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia was beside me.<\/p>\n<p>She had insisted on coming.<\/p>\n<p>When Linda looked at her, both women began crying.<\/p>\n<p>I felt nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Not yet.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel started simply.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinda, Patricia has asked you to explain your involvement with Shane\u2019s financing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda wiped her cheeks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know he was forging things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia flinched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t an explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was helping you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou pretended to be me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShane said the lender needed verbal confirmation and you hated financial calls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do hate them. That doesn\u2019t make you me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Shane tell you to use my name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you understand the call involved this house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew you wanted Shane to have the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted him to live there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t what you told me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother stared at her sister.<\/p>\n<p>Linda continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said Michelle could afford somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sentence entered the room like smoke.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I did not rescue her.<\/p>\n<p>Linda said, \u201cYou told me Shane needed it more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was upset.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said it more than once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother\u2019s shoulders dropped.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, her private reasoning was being repeated by someone she could not dismiss as angry.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel asked Linda what Shane had told her about ownership.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Patricia owned the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know Michelle and Emily were on the deed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did you learn?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSunday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered her leaning over the document.<\/p>\n<p>Her surprise had apparently been real.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you participate in the lender call?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Shane said Patricia had already approved everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you sign anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSend emails?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom your account?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPretending to be Patricia?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia whispered, \u201cLinda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Patricia wanted the loan to proceed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Shane draft it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you still have it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPreserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel asked, \u201cDid Shane ever ask you to impersonate Michelle?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMisty?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her answers came quickly enough that I believed them.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel moved to the education account.<\/p>\n<p>Linda\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Patricia ever discuss Emily\u2019s education fund?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Howard died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat there was money for Emily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know she was withdrawing it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot at first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia stared at the floor.<\/p>\n<p>Linda continued reluctantly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year she told me she had used some to help Shane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe didn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you tell her to stop?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda looked at my mother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Mom say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Shane would replace it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>The sentence had become a family prayer.<\/p>\n<p>Shane would replace it.<\/p>\n<p>Later.<\/p>\n<p>After the next deal.<\/p>\n<p>After the next loan.<\/p>\n<p>After the next rescue.<\/p>\n<p>Linda reached into her tote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI brought something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She removed an envelope.<\/p>\n<p>Inside were printed emails between her and Shane.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel asked before touching them, \u201cHow did you obtain these?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He reviewed the pages.<\/p>\n<p>Most concerned the lender verification.<\/p>\n<p>Then he stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linda leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why I came early.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The email was from Shane, dated six weeks earlier.<\/p>\n<p>It asked Linda whether Patricia still kept her spare checks in the desk near the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>My skin prickled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said I thought so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy was he asking?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said Patricia wanted him to pay some contractors for her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother stared at Linda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never said that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel turned to Patricia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you still keep checks in that desk?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI haven\u2019t used them in months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are they now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI assume there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAssume?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother\u2019s face drained.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to check.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We drove directly to the house.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody spoke during the ride.<\/p>\n<p>Emily was at school.<\/p>\n<p>I was grateful.<\/p>\n<p>At home Patricia went straight to the small rolltop desk in the dining room.<\/p>\n<p>She opened the second drawer.<\/p>\n<p>Receipts.<\/p>\n<p>Stamps.<\/p>\n<p>Old church bulletins.<\/p>\n<p>No checkbook.<\/p>\n<p>She searched the next drawer.<\/p>\n<p>Then the next.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe I moved it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I knew her habits.<\/p>\n<p>She had kept checks in the same place since before Dad died.<\/p>\n<p>We searched the desk twice.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel had followed in his own car.<\/p>\n<p>He stood near the dining-room entrance without touching anything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPatricia, do you know the account number?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCall the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She did.<\/p>\n<p>The first representative transferred her to fraud services after Patricia explained the missing checks.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you tell me the most recent check that cleared?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia listened.<\/p>\n<p>Her face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat number?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She wrote it down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmount?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her pen stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty-eight thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia repeated the question.<\/p>\n<p>Then she whispered, \u201cRick Halpern Holdings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel immediately asked for the date.<\/p>\n<p>The check had cleared nine days earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Before the family meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Before the title company stopped the transfer.<\/p>\n<p>Before Shane\u2019s story began collapsing.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t write that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bank representative asked whether she wanted to report the transaction as unauthorized.<\/p>\n<p>She looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>He nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Then the representative mentioned another check.<\/p>\n<p>$9,500.<\/p>\n<p>Payable to Shane Dunn.<\/p>\n<p>Cleared three weeks earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Another.<\/p>\n<p>$6,200.<\/p>\n<p>Cash.<\/p>\n<p>Another.<\/p>\n<p>$4,000.<\/p>\n<p>Shane Dunn.<\/p>\n<p>My mother lowered herself into the desk chair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The representative continued.<\/p>\n<p>Five checks over two months.<\/p>\n<p>Total: $53,700.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia had not written any of them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop payment on anything outstanding,\u201d Daniel said quietly.<\/p>\n<p>She repeated the request.<\/p>\n<p>The representative told her there were two checks currently pending.<\/p>\n<p>One for $12,000.<\/p>\n<p>Another for $18,000.<\/p>\n<p>My mother gripped the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bank initiated the process.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel asked the question that had occurred to me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho signed the checks?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia requested copies.<\/p>\n<p>The bank emailed images while we waited.<\/p>\n<p>The first appeared.<\/p>\n<p>The signature looked like hers.<\/p>\n<p>Better than the forged consent.<\/p>\n<p>Better than the documents we had already seen.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat looks exactly like my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked closer.<\/p>\n<p>Then I understood why.<\/p>\n<p>It probably was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom, do you ever sign blank checks?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>Then stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Her face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter my surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat surgery?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy cataract procedure last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t see well for a few days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered.<\/p>\n<p>Shane had stayed with her one afternoon while I worked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe paid bills for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you sign checks?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlank?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI signed several because he said he would fill in the utility amounts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s expression tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was again.<\/p>\n<p>But this time Patricia corrected herself without prompting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can find out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The second check image arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Same signature.<\/p>\n<p>Different handwriting everywhere else.<\/p>\n<p>Shane had not needed to forge my mother\u2019s signature on the checks.<\/p>\n<p>She had handed him signed blanks.<\/p>\n<p>The $28,000 payment to Rick complicated everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Rick know this money came from Patricia?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel called him.<\/p>\n<p>Rick answered quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, we received the payment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Shane represent the funds as his mother\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe represented them as family funds authorized for repayment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you speak to Patricia?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause it was a check bearing her signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Rick sounded troubled when Daniel explained the blank-check issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll preserve everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not return or move funds without legal review,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the call, my mother sat at the desk where she had unknowingly stored the tools Shane used against her.<\/p>\n<p>Linda stood behind her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia did not look up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was the first time I heard those words from my mother without an explanation following them.<\/p>\n<p>My phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Misty.<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>Her breathing was fast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichelle, Shane is here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt my sister\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My body tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre the kids there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs he inside?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. She won\u2019t let him in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCall the police if he threatens anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe isn\u2019t threatening us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich documents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ones I photographed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes he know you found them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says Linda told him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Aunt Linda.<\/p>\n<p>Her face went white.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Misty continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said somebody warned him this morning that everyone is turning against him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel held out his hand.<\/p>\n<p>I put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Shane identify who warned him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pounding sound came through the phone.<\/p>\n<p>Misty gasped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs that him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A man\u2019s muffled voice shouted outside.<\/p>\n<p>We could not make out the words.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMisty,\u201d Daniel said, \u201cmove away from the door.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you able to contact law enforcement?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pounding sound.<\/p>\n<p>Then Shane shouted loudly enough for us to hear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMisty! I need the blue folder!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked through something.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat blue folder?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He shouted again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGive me the folder and I leave!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Misty whispered, \u201cThere is a blue folder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not open the door,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s in it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>She moved away from the entrance.<\/p>\n<p>Paper rustled.<\/p>\n<p>Then she became silent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMisty?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are copies of checks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPatricia\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She turned pages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLoan applications.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose names?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShane\u2019s. Patricia\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>Then she whispered, \u201cMichelle, there\u2019s one with your name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA mortgage application.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead the property address.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Misty did.<\/p>\n<p>It was not Larkin Street.<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know that address.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rick\u2019s name appeared in the file.<\/p>\n<p>So did Shane\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel searched the address on his computer.<\/p>\n<p>His expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He turned the monitor.<\/p>\n<p>The property belonged to a small house on Calder Avenue.<\/p>\n<p>According to the public record displayed on the screen, it had been purchased eight months earlier by an LLC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat LLC?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel read the name.<\/p>\n<p>Dunn Family Property Group.<\/p>\n<p>I had never heard of it.<\/p>\n<p>Neither had Patricia.<\/p>\n<p>Misty whispered through the phone, \u201cThere\u2019s an operating agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho are the members?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paper moved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She kept reading.<\/p>\n<p>Then stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Michelle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin went cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have never owned an LLC with Shane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s your signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWrong middle initial?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Misty checked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That frightened me more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichelle A. Dunn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He had finally learned.<\/p>\n<p>The pounding at Misty\u2019s door stopped.<\/p>\n<p>For several seconds there was silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then she moved toward a window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not follow him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We heard a car start.<\/p>\n<p>Misty watched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel asked her to photograph the entire blue folder.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the Calder Avenue record.<\/p>\n<p>Eight months.<\/p>\n<p>An LLC carrying my name.<\/p>\n<p>A property I had never seen.<\/p>\n<p>A signature I had never made.<\/p>\n<p>Then Daniel clicked into another public filing.<\/p>\n<p>A notice had been recorded against the Calder Avenue property.<\/p>\n<p>He read silently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForeclosure proceeding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFiled last week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Misty was still turning pages.<\/p>\n<p>Then she found something else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichelle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a personal guarantee attached to the mortgage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I already knew whose name she was going to say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMine?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She read the figure.<\/p>\n<p>$318,000.<\/p>\n<p>For a moment nobody in my dining room spoke.<\/p>\n<p>The house my father had protected was no longer the only property Shane had tied to my identity.<\/p>\n<p>Somewhere across town stood another house I had never bought, owned through a company I had never joined, carrying a debt I had never agreed to pay.<\/p>\n<p>And it was already in foreclosure.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=11794\">Click here to continue reading: PART 13: The Foreclosed House Carried My Name, but the Closing File Showed Shane Had Needed Someone Else Inside the System to Make It Work<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daniel wanted to contact Aunt Linda through him. Patricia refused. \u201cShe\u2019s my sister.\u201d \u201cThat is precisely why you should be cautious,\u201d he said. \u201cI need to hear her explain it.\u201d &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11793"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11817,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11793\/revisions\/11817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}