Chương 15
He did not answer.
For the first time since I had known him, I heard Daniel let a problem exist without immediately volunteering someone else’s resources.
Finally, he said, “I’ll call Lauren.”
“Good.”
“And then?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay.”
After we hung up, Robert picked up the photo of Daniel’s handwritten note.
“What are you going to do about the bank claim?”
I stared at the word fraud on the case number page.
“Continue it.”
“Even after he admitted it?”
“Especially after he admitted it.”
Robert nodded once.
No approval.
No congratulation.
Just acknowledgment.
Then my phone lit up again.
This time it was an unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Something made me answer.
“Mariana?”
The man’s voice was strained and hoarse.
I recognized it anyway.
“Aaron.”
He exhaled.
“You need to listen to me before they blame Lauren.”
I stood.
Robert’s attention sharpened.
“Where are you?”
“I’m not coming back yet.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“I know.”
“Lauren thinks you ran.”
“She would.”
“You emptied your account.”
“I needed cash.”
“For what?”
“Because I found out who actually took the equity-loan money.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“You took it.”
“Some.”
“How much?”
“Not all.”
“Who took the rest?”
A car passed loudly near him.
Then I heard wind.
Aaron lowered his voice.
“Daniel.”
For a second, I thought the call had dropped.
Then I said, “How much?”
Aaron breathed into the phone.
“About eighty.”
“Eighty thousand?”
“Yes.”
“From the equity loan?”
“Yes.”
Robert stood beside me without speaking.
I turned on speaker.
“Say that again.”
Aaron’s voice came through the office.
“Daniel took about eighty thousand from the equity proceeds.”
Robert’s expression changed, but he did not interrupt.
I asked, “How do you know?”
“Because I saw the transfers.”
“From where?”
“Mom’s loan account.”
“To Daniel’s brokerage?”
“No.”
“To another account first.”
“What account?”
“One he opened under a business name.”
“What business?”
Aaron hesitated.
“Northline Ventures.”
I looked at Robert.
He was already typing.
“Who owns it?”
“I don’t know what the paperwork says.”
“That is not an answer.”
“I’m telling you what I know.”
“No, you’re telling me what makes Daniel look worse than you.”
Aaron’s breathing sharpened.
“I called you because Lauren doesn’t deserve to take the whole fall.”
“Then stop protecting yourself and give me facts.”
A long silence followed.
Finally, he said, “I arranged the equity loan.”
There it was.
Not a confession polished for sympathy.
Just a tired sentence.
“How?”
“I knew a broker.”
“Did Theresa agree?”
“To seventy-five.”
“And you changed it.”
“Yes.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Why?”
“Because seventy-five didn’t solve enough.”
“Enough for whom?”
“Everyone.”
I closed my eyes.
“Stop saying everyone.”
Aaron swore softly.
“Fine.”
“For me.”
“For Daniel.”
“For Lauren.”
“For Mom’s cards.”
“She didn’t have major credit-card debt.”
“She did after she started covering us.”
That was plausible enough to hurt.
“How much did you take?”
“About sixty.”
“And Daniel?”
“About eighty.”
“That leaves roughly forty-five.”
“Fees.”
“Closing costs.”
“Some went toward Mom’s existing debts.”
Robert wrote numbers on a pad.
The arithmetic was ugly but possible.
“Did Lauren know you increased the loan?”
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel?”
Aaron did not answer quickly enough.
“I think so.”
“Think?”
“He knew there was more money available.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“He took it.”
“So you’re saying he knew.”
“I’m saying he didn’t ask where eighty thousand came from.”
That was different.
Still damning.
Not proof of the exact lie.
“Why disappear?”
Aaron gave a bitter laugh.
“Because the broker called me.”
“When?”
“Two days ago.”
“What did he say?”
“The lender was moving against the house.”
“And you ran.”
“I panicked.”
“You emptied your account.”
“I needed cash.”
“For what?”
“Hotel.”
“Food.”
“Maybe a lawyer.”
“You took your passport.”
“I always keep it in my work bag.”
“Lauren thinks you were leaving the country.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Then why didn’t you call her?”
His voice dropped.
“Because she told me if the house went into default, she was done protecting me.”
That sounded like Lauren.
“What are you protecting her from?”
“Some of the applications.”
“Which applications?”
“She submitted things.”
“Knowing they were false?”
“Sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
“She knew Mom’s income was wrong.”
“Did she forge Theresa’s signature?”
“No.”
The certainty was immediate.
“Who did?”
“Me.”
Robert stopped writing.
I sat down.
“On the equity loan?”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“The thirty-two-thousand personal loan.”
My stomach tightened.
“You did that too?”
“Yes.”
“With Lauren’s pay stubs?”
“She uploaded them.”
“Did she know why?”
“Not at first.”
“At first.”
“She figured it out.”
“And stayed quiet.”
“Yes.”
“What about Daniel?”
“He knew about the personal loan after it happened.”
“Did he take money from it?”
“No.”
Aaron’s voice cracked slightly.
“He told me I was insane.”
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because Daniel had apparently maintained moral boundaries only after walking through several others.
“Where are you?”
Aaron did not answer.
“Where?”
“Outside Green Bay.”
“The cabin.”
Silence.
Daniel had been right.
“Who owns it?”
“Curtis Bell.”
“Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
“Are you safe?”
That question surprised both of us.
Aaron answered more slowly.
“Yes.”
“Then call Lauren.”
“I can’t.”
“You can.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Try the truth.”
“That worked great for you?”
The cruelty came automatically.
Then he sighed.
“Sorry.”
I looked through the office glass.
Nia was pretending not to glance toward me.
“Call her.”
“What about Daniel?”
“I’ll deal with Daniel.”
“That’s what you always do.”
I stiffened.
Aaron continued before I could answer.
“You clean up after him.”
“After Mom.”
“After everybody.”
“You act like you hate it, but you keep doing it.”
The words were close enough to Lauren’s that I wondered how often they had discussed me when I wasn’t there.
“You don’t get to make my generosity the reason you committed fraud.”
“I know.”
His answer was immediate.
“That wasn’t what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I mean stop fixing us.”
The sentence landed quietly.
No accusation.
May you like
No defense.
Just exhaustion.
