Chương 5
On the phone, Theresa began crying harder.
“I never signed anything for Aaron.”
Daniel reached for the blue folder.
I pulled it away.
“Then whose signature is on the loan?”
Theresa stopped crying.
The silence lasted just long enough.
Daniel closed his eyes.
I felt the answer arrive before she spoke.
“Mariana,” Theresa said quietly, “I think Lauren forged my name.”
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Then Daniel said, “No.”
It was not disbelief so much as refusal.
Theresa’s breathing crackled through the speaker.
“I never signed those papers.”
“Mom, slow down.”
“I am slow.”
“You said there are men at the house.”
“They’re in the driveway.”
“Did you let them inside?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Daniel started pacing between the kitchen and the living room.
“What company did you say?”
Theresa repeated the name.
I watched him type it into his phone.
His expression tightened.
“They service private loans.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means they may not own the debt.”
Theresa gave a thin, panicked laugh.
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“No.”
He kept scrolling.
“Did they give you anything?”
“A packet.”
“Take pictures and send them.”
“I don’t know how to scan.”
“Pictures, Mom.”
“I know how to take pictures.”
“Then do that.”
The old irritation in her voice was almost reassuring.
Almost.
A second later, she said, “They told me the account is in default.”
Daniel stopped pacing.
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ask them.”
“I don’t want to ask them anything.”
“Mom.”
“No.”
He pressed his fingers against his forehead.
“Fine.”
I picked up my phone.
“Tell them you’re disputing the debt and you want all communication in writing.”
Theresa went quiet.
Then she said, “Are you coming here?”
“No.”
Daniel looked at me.
I held his gaze.
“I’m not involved in the loan.”
“But you know about money.”
“I know enough not to have a conversation with strangers in your driveway about a debt you say you didn’t sign.”
Theresa’s voice hardened.
“So you’re just going to leave me here?”
The familiar guilt hook arrived so quickly that I almost respected the reflex.
“This isn’t about leaving you anywhere.”
“It certainly feels like it.”
Daniel stepped closer to the phone.
“Mom, send the papers.”
“I need you here.”
“I’ll come.”
I looked at him.
He ignored me.
“Give me twenty minutes.”
When the call ended, he grabbed his keys.
“You don’t have to come.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
He paused.
“You think that’s cold?”
“No.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I think you’re still reacting to every emergency your mother announces before you know what the emergency actually is.”
His mouth tightened.
“You heard her.”
“I did.”
“She could lose the house.”
“She might.”
“And that doesn’t matter to you?”
“It matters.”
I folded my arms.
“It just doesn’t make me responsible.”
Daniel looked away.
That landed.
I hated that it had to.
He picked up the accordion folder.
“Can I take this?”
“No.”
“It has my records.”
“It has records tied to money I contributed.”
“Mari.”
“Take pictures.”
He stared at me.
Then he pulled out his phone and photographed three pages.
It was awkward and petty and somehow more honest than most of our financial life had been.
At the door, he stopped.
“What are you going to do?”
“About what?”
“Us.”
I looked at his running shoes beside mine.
“I don’t know.”
He nodded once.
“That’s fair.”
After he left, I stood in the kitchen until the coffee went cold.
At seven thirty, I ordered Thai food and ate four bites.
At eight twelve, Daniel texted me a photograph of the notice.
At the top was a loan number.
Below it, in plain black type, was a demand for immediate contact regarding an accelerated balance.
The outstanding amount was just over one hundred seventy-three thousand dollars.
I zoomed in.
The borrower was listed as Theresa Caldwell.
There was also a guarantor.
Lauren Pierce.
That was Lauren’s married name.
I read the document twice.
Then Daniel called.
“Did you see it?”
“Yes.”
“Lauren’s on it.”
“I saw.”
“Mom says she had no idea.”
“Do you believe her?”
He did not answer immediately.
“I don’t know.”
That was new.
Three days earlier, he would have defended Theresa before I finished the question.
“Did the men leave?”
“Yes.”
“What did they say?”
“They’re field representatives.”
“For what?”
“To confirm occupancy and deliver notice.”
“So nobody is changing locks tonight.”
“No.”
He sounded embarrassed.
“Mom thought they were taking the house.”
“Theresa thinks a declined card is an economic sanction.”
Daniel exhaled through his nose.
“I know.”
The silence stretched.
Then he said, “Lauren isn’t answering.”
“Where’s Aaron?”
“Also not answering.”
“That seems useful.”
“I drove by their place.”
I closed my eyes.
“Of course you did.”
“I didn’t go in.”
“Progress.”
“Their cars are gone.”
That made me sit up.
“Both?”
“Yes.”
“Could they be out to dinner?”
“Maybe.”
“But you don’t think so.”
“No.”
I looked again at the photograph.
“When did the loan go into default?”
“Four months ago.”
“Who was making payments before that?”
“Apparently Mom.”
I frowned.
“With what money?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“Ask her.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“She said she transferred money to Lauren every month for household expenses.”
“How much?”
“Twelve hundred.”
My stomach tightened.
“That’s almost the amount of some of the transfers Robert found.”
“I know.”
“So Theresa was giving Lauren money.”
“Yes.”
“And I was giving Theresa money.”
“Yes.”
“And you were giving Aaron money.”
“Yes.”
Neither of us spoke.
It sounded less like a family and more like a badly run shell company.
“What did Theresa think Lauren was doing with the money?”
“Paying utilities and helping with insurance.”
“Utilities I was already paying.”
Daniel was quiet.
“Yes.”
I got up and began walking because sitting felt impossible.
“Does your mother know I paid the utilities?”
“She knows you helped.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Another pause.
“No.”
I stopped.
May you like
“What does she think you paid?”
“She thought I paid most of the house expenses.”
