Chapter 3 - The Signature They Needed
The turkey was getting cold while I read paperwork that could have taken away part of my future.
The irony would have been funny if I hadn’t wanted to throw up.
The documents were for a home-equity refinance secured against my parents’ house and a small lake property my grandmother had left in a family trust.
My name appeared three times.
Beneficiary.
Consent required.
Signature pending.
I looked at my mother.
“You invited us here to sign this?”
She rubbed her forehead.
“I was going to explain after dinner.”
James took the papers from me.
“Explain what?”
“That we’re helping Lauren get back on her feet.”
Lauren rolled her eyes.
“Can everyone stop saying it like I’m homeless?”
Dad grabbed the top page.
His face drained of color.
“Susan. How much?”
Mom didn’t answer.
“How much?” he shouted.
“Two hundred and eighty thousand.”
The room exploded.
My uncle swore.
My aunt said, “Oh my God.”
Dad backed away from the table like the paper had burned him.
“Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars?”
“It consolidates everything.”
“What everything?”
Lauren snapped, “My legal bills, the condo, some credit cards—”
“Some?” Dad said.
Mom stepped between them.
“Robert, not now.”
“No. Right now.”
James kept reading.
“What happens if the loan defaults?”
Mom didn’t answer.
He looked at me.
“The lender can force sale of the lake property. Depending on how this is structured, possibly the house too.”
I stared at my mother.
“You wanted me to sign away collateral so Lauren could pay her bills?”
“She’s your sister.”
There it was again.
The sentence that had apparently become a permission slip for anything.
I pointed at Emma.
“She hit my daughter.”
Mom’s eyes filled with tears.
“And I’m sorry that happened.”
“No, you’re sorry it’s interfering with the paperwork.”
“That is cruel.”
“What’s cruel is inviting me to Thanksgiving under false pretenses.”
Lauren snatched the papers from James.
“You weren’t signing anything tonight anyway after Captain America decided to put on a show.”
“Major,” James said.
Lauren blinked.
He gave her a cold smile.
“If you’re going to insult me, at least get the rank right.”
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Mrs. Walker?” a woman asked.
“Yes.”
“This is Deputy Harris with the county sheriff’s office. We received a complaint regarding an assault at your parents’ residence.”
My eyes went to Lauren.
She smiled.
The deputy continued.
“The reporting party states that your husband threatened her and physically prevented her from leaving.”
“That’s a lie.”
James held out his hand.
I gave him the phone.
“Deputy, this is Major James Walker. I never touched Ms. Mercer. I told her to leave after she struck my eight-month-old daughter.”
There was a pause.
“Sir, we’re sending a unit to document statements.”
“Good.”
My mother whispered, “James, please don’t make this worse.”
He looked at her.
“I’m not the one calling the police with a false story.”
Lauren picked up her purse.
“You should probably worry less about me and more about your career.”
James’s face hardened.
“What did you do?”
She opened the door.
“I didn’t do anything.”
Then she looked directly at me.
“But somebody at this table already gave the sheriff a statement.”
The door closed behind her.
Everyone slowly turned toward one another.
Because Lauren had left.
But the person who had backed her lie was still sitting in the room.
---
May you like
If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://vibe.treeiq.biz New stories are posted daily, so check back for updates.
