I called Rachel before Marcus could say anything else.<\/p>\n
She answered after four rings.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you approach Marcus about selling Dad's property?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then a slow breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Marcus sat down.<\/p>\n
I stepped away from the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I knew about the debts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought selling the property was the only way out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew it belonged to the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you knew Marcus was using my name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew he was trying to.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hand tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou all knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know how bad it had become.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo was I.\u201d<\/p>\n
She went quiet.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cWhy did you tell me to look at the documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I couldn't keep lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Marcus told me the developer wanted the land.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the dining table.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to pay everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy student loans. Mom's mortgage. Marcus's business debts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou'd get your money back.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou planned to sell my father's property and use the proceeds to reimburse me for money I never should have had to give.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how it sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds exactly like what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
She cried harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was helping.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
Marcus watched me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're angry with Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm angry with all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI deserve that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
For the first time since he had walked in, he didn't defend himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at the floor.<\/p>\n
The story came out slowly.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Then he borrowed again.<\/p>\n
By the time he realized the business was beyond repair, he had already invested everything he had.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't want Mom to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe found out six months later.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Dad's property?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus rubbed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mentioned it to Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe contacted the developer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI agreed to meet them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you sign anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the first piece of good news.<\/p>\n
But there was another problem.<\/p>\n
Daniel called while we were still talking.<\/p>\n
He had reviewed the county records.<\/p>\n
The trust was still valid.<\/p>\n
However, someone had submitted a document claiming I had resigned as trustee.<\/p>\n
I nearly dropped the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never resigned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho submitted it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're investigating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Marcus have done it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at my brother.<\/p>\n
He shook his head before I even asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I believed him.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I realized there might be another person involved.<\/p>\n
Daniel asked me to come to his office the next morning.<\/p>\n
I agreed.<\/p>\n
Before bed, I went back through Dad's old files.<\/p>\n
There were gaps.<\/p>\n
Important gaps.<\/p>\n
The trust had been created shortly before Dad's death.<\/p>\n
Mom had told me the paperwork was simple.<\/p>\n
It wasn't.<\/p>\n
There were three trustees listed.<\/p>\n
Dad.<\/p>\n
Mom.<\/p>\n
And me.<\/p>\n
But after Dad died, the documents showed that Mom had become temporary trustee.<\/p>\n
I had never seen that page.<\/p>\n
At the bottom was a clause stating that if Mom became unable or unwilling to administer the trust, I would assume control.<\/p>\n
I read it twice.<\/p>\n
Then I noticed a handwritten notation in Dad's handwriting.<\/p>\n
*Only release the property when all beneficiaries agree.**<\/p>\n
That meant Marcus couldn't sell it.<\/p>\n
Rachel couldn't sell it.<\/p>\n
Mom couldn't sell it.<\/p>\n
And I couldn't sell it alone.<\/p>\n
The developer had been negotiating for something they couldn't legally receive.<\/p>\n
Unless someone had found a way around the trust.<\/p>\n
The next morning, Daniel spread the documents across his conference table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are two separate issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich are?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe forged guarantee and the attempted trustee resignation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho filed the resignation?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel slid a document toward me.<\/p>\n
The name of the submitting attorney was printed at the top.<\/p>\n
I recognized it.<\/p>\n
It was the attorney Mom had hired after Dad died.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought so too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked closer.<\/p>\n
The filing had been made seven months ago.<\/p>\n
Seven months.<\/p>\n
That was before Marcus told Rachel about the developer.<\/p>\n
Before Victor lent him the money.<\/p>\n
Before I knew any of this.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho instructed the attorney?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel pointed to a line.<\/p>\n
Mom's name appeared there.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She had accompanied me to the office.<\/p>\n
Her face went white.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't sign that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at her carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you saying you did not authorize this filing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned to Mom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen someone used your identity too.\u201d<\/p>\n
She began shaking.<\/p>\n
Marcus stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the document.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know who did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
We all stared at him.<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn't me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Mom.<\/p>\n
\u201cUncle Raymond.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom's expression collapsed.<\/p>\n
I had not heard that name in years.<\/p>\n
Raymond was Dad's older brother.<\/p>\n
And he had been absent from our lives since the funeral.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Raymond have to do with the property?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus whispered the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe owns the development company.\u201d<\/p>\n
I called Rachel before Marcus could say anything else. She answered after four rings. \u201cEvan?\u201d \u201cDid you approach Marcus about selling Dad's property?\u201d Silence. Then a slow breath. \u201cYes.\u201d Mom … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8720","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\/8720","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=8720"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8740,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8720\/revisions\/8740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}