{"id":3520,"date":"2026-08-20T22:56:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=3520"},"modified":"2026-08-20T22:56:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:56:48","slug":"part-3-my-nephew-spat-in-my-food-while-everyone-laughed-that-night-my-family-disowned-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=3520","title":{"rendered":"PART 3 \u2013 My nephew spat in my food while everyone laughed. That night, my family disowned me."},"content":{"rendered":"
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PART 3 \u2014 THE SECRET ACCOUNT BEHIND MY FAMILY\u2019S SMILES<\/h5>\n

The name on Natalie\u2019s message was my mother\u2019s.
\nLinda Whitman.
\nFor several seconds, I simply stared at the screen.
\nMy first thought was impossible.
\nMy second was worse.
\nI picked up the phone and typed:
\nMy mother?
\nNatalie answered immediately.
\nYes.
\nI called her.
\nShe picked up on the first ring.
\n\u201cTell me exactly what you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Natalie exhaled.
\n\u201cRachel, before I say anything else, I need you to understand that I don\u2019t think what you\u2019re imagining happened.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat am I imagining?\u201d
\n\u201cYou know.\u201d
\n\u201cI really don\u2019t.\u201d
\nThere was a pause.
\nThen she said, \u201cI don\u2019t think Derek was sleeping with your mother.\u201d
\nI closed my eyes.
\nI had not wanted to say it out loud.
\n\u201cThen why were they sharing a hotel reservation?\u201d
\n\u201cThey weren\u2019t sharing a room.\u201d
\n\u201cThe receipt says two guests.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe company booked two rooms under one reservation.\u201d
\nI leaned back in my chair.
\nThat should have made me feel better.
\nIt did not.
\n\u201cWhy were Derek and my mother secretly in Cincinnati together?\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the part Lauren doesn\u2019t know.\u201d
\nMy stomach tightened.
\n\u201cTell me.\u201d
\nNatalie lowered her voice.
\n\u201cDerek was trying to buy a property.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat property?\u201d
\n\u201cAn apartment building.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I frowned.
\n\u201cDerek doesn\u2019t own apartment buildings.\u201d
\n\u201cHe almost did.\u201d
\n\u201cAlmost?\u201d
\n\u201cThe deal collapsed.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cAbout eighteen months ago.\u201d
\nI immediately opened the spreadsheet again.
\nEighteen months.
\nI scrolled backward.
\nThere it was.
\nThe $8,700 transfer.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Two days before the Cincinnati hotel reservation.
\nI felt cold.
\n\u201cNatalie, what did my money have to do with this?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cYou told me the payroll story was fake.\u201d
\n\u201cIt was. I handled payroll then. Derek had enough money in the company account.\u201d
\n\u201cThen why did he ask me for $8,700?\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s what you need to ask him.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nI looked at the bank deposit slip again.
\n\u201cI think I already know.\u201d
\nThe account receiving my money was not Derek\u2019s normal business account.
\nI opened my banking app and searched the routing number.
\nA local credit union.
\nThen I enlarged the deposit slip Natalie had sent.
\nThe account holder line was partially hidden beneath Derek\u2019s signature.
\nBut not completely.
\nThree letters were visible.
\nL.W.
\nLinda Whitman.
\nMy mother.
\nI stopped breathing for a second.
\n\u201cNatalie.\u201d
\n\u201cYeah?\u201d
\n\u201cThat deposit wasn\u2019t into Derek\u2019s account.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cIt was Mom\u2019s.\u201d
\nSilence.
\nThen Natalie whispered, \u201cOh my God.\u201d
\nI stood and began pacing my office.
\n\u201cWhy would Derek borrow money from me and deposit it into my mother\u2019s account?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cWho else knew about the property?\u201d
\n\u201cI only knew because Derek left documents on the office printer. He nearly fired me when he realized I\u2019d seen them.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat documents?\u201d
\n\u201cA purchase agreement.\u201d
\n\u201cIn whose name?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t remember exactly. Some LLC.\u201d
\n\u201cCan you remember anything?\u201d
\nShe went quiet.
\nThen she said, \u201cWhitmore.\u201d
\nI stopped.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cI think the company had Whitmore in the name. Whitmore Holdings or Whitmore Properties. Something like that.\u201d
\nWhitman.
\nMy mother\u2019s last name.
\nMoore.
\nDerek\u2019s last name.
\nWhitmore.
\nMy fingers tightened around the phone.
\n\u201cMom and Derek created a company together.\u201d
\n\u201cI can\u2019t prove that.\u201d
\n\u201cI can.\u201d
\nI had spent thirteen years working in corporate finance.
\nPeople in my family loved mocking my job because they thought I sat in an office moving numbers around.
\nWhat they forgot was that I knew exactly where to look when money disappeared.
\nI pulled my laptop toward me.
\nOhio business filings were public.
\nI searched Whitmore.
\nNothing.
\nWhitmore Holdings.
\nNothing.
\nWhitmore Properties.
\nNothing.
\nThen I tried Whitmore Residential LLC.
\nOne result appeared.
\nRegistered nineteen months earlier.
\nMy pulse jumped.
\nI opened it.
\nOrganizer:
\nDerek Moore.
\nStatutory agent:
\nLinda Whitman.
\nI stared at their names.
\nTogether.
\nOn a company nobody had ever mentioned to me.
\n\u201cNatalie.\u201d
\n\u201cYou found it?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nI clicked through the filing history.
\nWhitmore Residential LLC had been formed nineteen months ago.
\nOne month later, my mother called me crying because Dad\u2019s \u201cbusiness debts were getting dangerous.\u201d
\nI sent them twelve thousand dollars.
\nThree weeks after that, Derek called about payroll.
\nEight thousand seven hundred.
\nTwo months later, Lauren asked me for nine thousand dollars for Mason\u2019s dental work.
\nI remembered that one because I offered to pay the dentist directly.
\nLauren refused.
\nShe said they had already put the bill on a credit card and needed reimbursement.
\nI sent the money.
\nMy heart began pounding harder.
\n\u201cNatalie, I need to go.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d
\n\u201cFind out how much of my money went into that company.\u201d
\n\u201cRachel, be careful.\u201d
\nI almost smiled.
\nCareful.
\nI had spent three years being careful with everyone else\u2019s feelings.
\nI was finished.
\nI hung up and started searching.
\nThe property records took longer.
\nWhitmore Residential had made an offer on a sixteen-unit apartment building outside Cincinnati.
\nPurchase price:
\n$1.26 million.
\nThe sale never closed.
\nBut a lien filing showed something else.
\nA $75,000 earnest-money deposit.
\nSeventy-five thousand dollars.
\nI stared at the number.
\nThe amount my family had borrowed from me during those months was more than enough to cover it.
\nMy phone rang.
\nLauren.
\nI answered.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cWhy are you talking to Natalie?\u201d
\nHer voice was frantic.
\nNot angry.
\nFrightened.
\n\u201cWhy do you care?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause she hates Derek.\u201d
\n\u201cDoes she?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cShe got fired.\u201d
\n\u201cNatalie said she quit.\u201d
\n\u201cShe\u2019s lying.\u201d
\n\u201cInteresting.\u201d
\n\u201cRachel, whatever she\u2019s telling you\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cTell me about Whitmore Residential.\u201d
\nSilence.
\nComplete silence.
\nI actually checked the screen to make sure the call had not disconnected.
\nThen Lauren whispered, \u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cYou heard me.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what that is.\u201d
\nShe was lying.
\nI knew my sister\u2019s lying voice.
\nIt went higher and faster, as though speed could turn fiction into fact.
\n\u201cOkay.\u201d
\n\u201cOkay what?\u201d
\n\u201cI believe you.\u201d
\n\u201cYou do?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nShe exploded.
\n\u201cThis is exactly what you do! You decide everyone is against you and then you go digging through people\u2019s private lives!\u201d
\n\u201cLauren, you called me.\u201d
\n\u201cBecause Natalie is trying to destroy my marriage!\u201d
\n\u201cI thought she was lying.\u201d
\n\u201cShe is!\u201d
\n\u201cThen how could she destroy anything?\u201d
\nSilence again.
\nI looked at the company filing.
\n\u201cYour husband formed a company with Mom nineteen months ago.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nThat reaction sounded real.
\nI sat straighter.
\n\u201cYou genuinely don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cKnow what?\u201d
\n\u201cWhitmore Residential LLC. Derek is the organizer. Mom is the statutory agent.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d
\n\u201cThey tried to buy an apartment building in Cincinnati.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, Rachel. Derek would have told me.\u201d
\n\u201cWould he?\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019s my husband.\u201d
\nI almost said, And she\u2019s my mother.
\nBut I stopped myself.
\n\u201cAsk him.\u201d
\n\u201cI will.\u201d
\n\u201cAsk Mom too.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re making this into something it isn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cThen finding the truth should be easy.\u201d
\nShe hung up.
\nSeven minutes later, Derek called.
\nI declined.
\nHe called again.
\nDeclined.
\nThen he texted.
\nYou need to stop.
\nI smiled.
\nThat was the wrong thing to send me.
\nI typed:
\nStop what?
\nDigging through my business.
\nYour business is public record.
\nYou have no idea what you\u2019re messing with.
\nI reread that message twice.
\nThen I took a screenshot.
\nMe:
\nIs that a threat?
\nHis reply took almost a minute.
\nDon\u2019t be dramatic.
\nI sent a laughing emoji.
\nIt was probably childish.
\nIt felt wonderful.
\nThen I asked:
\nWhy did you tell me your employees wouldn\u2019t get paid when you borrowed $8,700?
\nNo response.
\nI continued.
\nWhy was that money deposited into Mom\u2019s account?
\nStill nothing.
\nAnd why did you and Mom create Whitmore Residential?
\nThe typing bubble appeared.
\nDisappeared.
\nReturned.
\nFinally:
\nAsk your mother.
\nI stared at those three words.
\nThen another message arrived.
\nAnd Rachel?
\nI waited.
\nLeave Lauren out of this.
\nThat told me more than anything else.
\nLauren really did not know.
\nI called Mom.
\nShe declined.
\nI called again.
\nDeclined.
\nSo I sent one photograph.
\nThe Whitmore Residential filing.
\nHer response came thirty seconds later.
\nCome over.
\nI typed:
\nNo.
\nRachel, we need to discuss this in person.
\nYou can come here.
\nShe did.
\nAt 9:58 p.m., Mom\u2019s car pulled into my driveway.
\nDad was not with her.
\nI opened the door but did not invite her in immediately.
\nShe looked ten years older than she had the day before.
\n\u201cCan I come inside?\u201d
\nI stepped aside.
\nShe entered my living room and stared at the laptop waiting on the coffee table.
\nThe business filing was open on the screen.
\nShe sat.
\nI remained standing.
\n\u201cWhat is Whitmore Residential?\u201d
\nMom rubbed her hands together.
\n\u201cIt was an investment.\u201d
\n\u201cWith Derek?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cHe brought me the opportunity.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd Dad?\u201d
\n\u201cYour father didn\u2019t know.\u201d
\nAnother secret.
\n\u201cLauren?\u201d
\n\u201cShe didn\u2019t know either.\u201d
\n\u201cHow much money did you put into it?\u201d
\nMom looked away.
\n\u201cHow much?\u201d
\n\u201cSeventy-five thousand.\u201d
\nI laughed.
\nNot because anything was funny.
\nBecause I had reached the point where disbelief had nowhere else to go.
\n\u201cWhere did you get seventy-five thousand dollars?\u201d
\n\u201cWe had savings.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cRachel\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cYou called me because your furnace broke and you couldn\u2019t afford six thousand dollars.\u201d
\n\u201cWe had retirement money.\u201d
\n\u201cDad told me you emptied most of that after the construction business failed.\u201d
\nShe said nothing.
\nI sat across from her.
\n\u201cWhere did the seventy-five thousand come from?\u201d
\nMom\u2019s eyes filled.
\n\u201cSome of it was ours.\u201d
\n\u201cHow much?\u201d
\n\u201cRachel, please.\u201d
\n\u201cHow much?\u201d
\n\u201cTwenty-one thousand.\u201d
\nI did the math in my head.
\n\u201cMeaning fifty-four thousand came from somewhere else.\u201d
\nShe nodded.
\nMy voice became very quiet.
\n\u201cDid it come from me?\u201d
\nMom started crying.
\nThat was my answer.
\nI felt something inside me break.
\nNot loudly.
\nNot dramatically.
\nJust cleanly.
\nLike a thread finally pulled too far.
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\n\u201cWe never planned to steal from you.\u201d
\n\u201cDo not use that sentence unless you\u2019re about to explain why you stole from me.\u201d
\nHer head snapped up.
\n\u201cWe were going to pay everything back.\u201d
\n\u201cWith what?\u201d
\n\u201cThe property.\u201d
\n\u201cThe property you never bought?\u201d
\n\u201cThe financing fell through.\u201d
\n\u201cSo you took money I sent for Dad\u2019s mortgage, his debts, Mason\u2019s dental surgery, and Derek\u2019s fake payroll emergency and used it to fund your investment.\u201d
\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t like that.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is exactly like that.\u201d
\n\u201cDerek said the building was undervalued. He had investors interested. We were supposed to renovate it and sell within two years.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you ask me to invest?\u201d
\nHer face changed.
\nThat question hit harder than the others.
\n\u201cWhy, Mom?\u201d
\n\u201cYou would have said no.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\nThere it was.
\nNot confusion.
\nNot misunderstanding.
\nThey knew.
\nThey knew I would not agree.
\nSo they lied.
\n\u201cHow much of the fifty-four thousand was mine?\u201d
\nShe whispered, \u201cMost of it.\u201d
\n\u201cHow much?\u201d
\n\u201cForty-six.\u201d
\nForty-six thousand dollars.
\nI thought about every phone call.
\nEvery emergency.
\nEvery time Mom had sounded frightened.
\nEvery time I transferred money because I thought my parents could lose their home.
\nForty-six thousand dollars had secretly gone toward a business venture with my brother-in-law.
\n\u201cWhat happened to the seventy-five thousand?\u201d
\n\u201cThe seller kept part of the deposit after the financing failed.\u201d
\n\u201cHow much?\u201d
\n\u201cThirty thousand.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd the rest?\u201d
\n\u201cLegal fees. Inspections. Derek needed some money for\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cFor what?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\n\u201cYou gave him money without knowing where it went?\u201d
\n\u201cHe was handling the deal.\u201d
\n\u201cYou lied to your daughter to get money for a secret investment and then handed control of it to Derek?\u201d
\nShe flinched.
\n\u201cWhen you say it like that\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cHow else should I say it?\u201d
\nShe began crying harder.
\n\u201cI was trying to save us.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. You were trying to get rich.\u201d
\nHer expression hardened.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t understand what it feels like.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cTo be dependent on your own child.\u201d
\nI froze.
\nMom wiped her cheeks angrily.
\n\u201cEvery month your payment arrived. Every month I had to know my daughter was keeping a roof over my head.\u201d
\n\u201cSo you were ashamed.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd your solution was to secretly take more money from me.\u201d
\n\u201cI wanted one successful investment. Just one. Then we could pay you back and never need anything again.\u201d
\nFor the first time, I could understand the emotion behind what she had done.
\nBut understanding did not make it acceptable.
\n\u201cYou could have told me.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd listened to you explain why it was too risky?\u201d
\n\u201cI work in finance, Mom.\u201d
\n\u201cExactly.\u201d
\nHer answer stunned me.
\n\u201cYou always know better.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\nThere was resentment in her face.
\nOld resentment.
\nDeep resentment.
\nSuddenly Aunt Patricia\u2019s words came back.
\nYour mother tells people they\u2019re helping you.
\n\u201cIs that why you told everyone Dad was supporting me?\u201d
\nMom\u2019s eyes shifted.
\nI knew instantly.
\n\u201cAnswer me.\u201d
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t tell everyone.\u201d
\n\u201cYou told Aunt Patricia.\u201d
\n\u201cShe misunderstood.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nI leaned forward.
\n\u201cYou told people Dad was giving me money.\u201d
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t want them knowing we needed help.\u201d
\n\u201cSo you destroyed my reputation to protect your pride.\u201d
\n\u201cThat is not fair.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat part is unfair?\u201d
\n\u201cThey already thought you acted better than everyone.\u201d
\nI went still.
\n\u201cWho is they?\u201d
\nMom hesitated.
\n\u201cLauren. Eric. Sometimes Derek.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you encouraged it.\u201d
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t encourage anything.\u201d
\n\u201cYou let them believe I was secretly living off you while I paid your mortgage.\u201d
\nHer voice rose.
\n\u201cI was embarrassed!\u201d
\n\u201cSo you made me the embarrassment instead.\u201d
\nShe stood.
\n\u201cI did not come here to be attacked.\u201d
\n\u201cThen why did you come?\u201d
\n\u201cTo explain.\u201d
\n\u201cYou explained.\u201d
\nI stood too.
\n\u201cYou lied to me. You took money under false reasons. You lied about me to the family. And now I know why everybody at dinner thinks I\u2019m some spoiled fraud.\u201d
\nMom grabbed her purse.
\n\u201cYou think you\u2019re perfect.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cYou sit there with your house and your career and your money and judge everybody.\u201d
\n\u201cI bought my house.\u201d
\nShe stopped.
\n\u201cI built my career.\u201d
\nSilence.
\n\u201cAnd the money in my account is mine.\u201d
\nShe stared at me.
\n\u201cFor years, I shared it because I loved you.\u201d
\nMy voice cracked slightly, but I continued.
\n\u201cYou turned that love into something ugly.\u201d
\nFor once, Mom had no response.
\nShe walked toward the door.
\nThen I asked the question I had been avoiding.
\n\u201cWhy did Derek tell Mason I deserved to be spit on?\u201d
\nMom stopped with her back to me.
\n\u201cMom.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nI could tell she did.
\n\u201cWhat happened before dinner?\u201d
\n\u201cNothing.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy did Derek suddenly hate me enough to tell his child something like that?\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019s always thought you were arrogant.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nI stepped closer.
\n\u201cHe was angry about something.\u201d
\nMom\u2019s hand tightened around her purse.
\n\u201cWhat did I do?\u201d
\n\u201cNothing.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did Derek think I did?\u201d
\nShe turned.
\nHer face was pale.
\n\u201cDrop it, Rachel.\u201d
\nI almost laughed.
\nEveryone kept telling me to stop.
\nNobody understood that every warning was simply another sign pointing toward the truth.
\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d
\n\u201cGo to bed.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m thirty-six years old.\u201d
\n\u201cThen act like it.\u201d
\n\u201cTell me.\u201d
\nMom opened the door.
\nI caught one final change in her expression.
\nFear.
\nNot embarrassment.
\nNot shame.
\nFear.
\n\u201cMom.\u201d
\nShe looked back.
\n\u201cYou really want to know why Derek was angry with you?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cBecause two weeks ago, the bank called him.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat bank?\u201d
\n\u201cThe bank handling the apartment deal.\u201d
\nMy stomach tightened.
\n\u201cThe deal collapsed eighteen months ago.\u201d
\n\u201cThe first deal did.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\n\u201cFirst?\u201d
\nShe closed her eyes.
\nAnd suddenly everything became worse.
\n\u201cThere was another property.\u201d
\nMy mouth went dry.
\n\u201cYou did it again?\u201d
\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t take more money from you.\u201d
\n\u201cThen why would Derek blame me?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause the second deal was approved.\u201d
\n\u201cWas?\u201d
\n\u201cUntil the bank reviewed his financial disclosures.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat does that have to do with me?\u201d
\nMom looked directly at me.
\n\u201cYour name was on them.\u201d
\nI stopped breathing.
\n\u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d
\n\u201cHe used you as a financial guarantor.\u201d
\nThe room seemed to tilt.
\n\u201cI never guaranteed anything.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat exactly did he submit?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cMom.\u201d
\n\u201cI swear.\u201d
\nMy hands began shaking.
\n\u201cHow much was the loan?\u201d
\nShe whispered the answer.
\n\u201cEight hundred and forty thousand dollars.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\nFor several seconds, I could not form words.
\nThen one sentence came out.
\n\u201cHe forged my signature.\u201d
\nMom started crying again.
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t know until later.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you didn\u2019t tell me?\u201d
\n\u201cDerek said nothing would happen because the loan hadn\u2019t closed.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy did the bank call him two weeks ago?\u201d
\nHer eyes dropped.
\n\u201cBecause someone contacted them and challenged your financial information.\u201d
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nThat was the first thing she said that night that I believed.
\n\u201cWhat financial information?\u201d
\n\u201cIncome statements. Asset documents. Something from your company.\u201d
\nMy stomach twisted.
\nDerek had not just used my name.
\nHe had access to my private financial information.
\n\u201cHow did he get those?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nThen I remembered something.
\nEight months earlier.
\nLauren had asked me to help her apply for a mortgage refinance.
\nShe came to my house.
\nI opened financial records on my computer while she sat beside me.
\nAt one point, she asked to use my printer.
\nI had left the room to make coffee.
\nMy mind moved faster.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nMom frowned.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nI grabbed my phone.
\nI opened my email and searched for old security alerts.
\nThen I found one.
\nSeven months ago.
\nA login to my cloud storage from an unfamiliar Windows computer.
\nI had changed the password afterward and assumed it was a failed sync from an old laptop.
\nNow I checked the location.
\nDublin, Ohio.
\nThree miles from Derek and Lauren\u2019s house.
\nMy pulse became deafening.
\nMom watched my face.
\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d
\n\u201cThey stole my financial records.\u201d
\n\u201cRachel, you don\u2019t know that.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m about to.\u201d
\nI called Lauren.
\nShe answered sounding exhausted.
\n\u201cWhat now?\u201d
\n\u201cDid Derek use my financial documents to apply for an $840,000 loan?\u201d
\nSilence.
\n\u201cLauren?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d
\n\u201cHe used my name as guarantor.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nThat reaction was genuine.
\nMom whispered behind me.
\n\u201cRachel, stop.\u201d
\nLauren heard her.
\n\u201cIs Mom there?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat is she talking about?\u201d
\nI looked at Mom.
\n\u201cAsk her.\u201d
\nLauren shouted through the phone.
\n\u201cMom, what did Derek do?\u201d
\nMom began crying again.
\nAnd then, before anyone could say another word, someone started pounding on my front door.
\nThree hard knocks.
\nMom froze.
\nI looked through the window.
\nDerek.
\nHis truck was parked crooked across my driveway.
\nLauren heard the knocking through the phone.
\n\u201cWho is that?\u201d
\nI did not answer.
\nDerek knocked again.
\n\u201cRachel!\u201d
\nMom rushed toward me.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t open it.\u201d
\nThat surprised me.
\nI looked at her.
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nHer face had gone completely white.
\n\u201cBecause he knows.\u201d
\n\u201cKnows what?\u201d
\nBefore she could answer, Derek shouted through the door.
\n\u201cRachel, we need to fix this before tomorrow morning!\u201d
\nMy heart pounded.
\nI called through the door.
\n\u201cWhat happens tomorrow morning?\u201d
\nSilence.
\nThen Derek said something that made Mom cover her mouth.
\n\u201cThe bank\u2019s fraud department is calling you at nine.\u201d
\nLauren screamed through my phone.
\n\u201cFraud department?\u201d
\nI stared at Derek\u2019s shadow through the glass.
\nThen he said:
\n\u201cIf you tell them you never signed those documents, they\u2019re going to investigate everything.\u201d
\nI almost laughed.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the point.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, Rachel.\u201d
\nHis voice dropped.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t understand.\u201d
\n\u201cThen explain it.\u201d
\nThere was a long silence.
\nFinally, Derek spoke.
\n\u201cIf they investigate those documents, your mother could go to prison.\u201d
\nI slowly turned toward Mom.
\nShe was crying.
\nBut she did not look surprised.
\nAnd that was when I realized the worst part.
\nDerek had not forged my signature alone.
\nMy mother had helped him\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 4\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

CLICK HERE CONTINUE TO READ PART 4 \u2013 My nephew spat in my food while everyone laughed. That night, my family disowned me.<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n