Chapter 11 - The Money We Couldn't Give Back

Dad didn't argue when I told him what Grant had said. He sat down at the kitchen table and looked at the strip of sunlight lying across the scratched wood.

"I took it," he said. "The deposit. Two million."

Mom was home from the hospital by then, exhausted but determined to sit with us. She closed her eyes. "Arthur."

"The east wing roof was failing. Thirty-four people still draw checks from that plant. One bank wouldn't lend, and another demanded your signature. Grant offered a deposit on the proposed purchase, and I used it to keep the lights on."

"You used sale money before there was a sale?" I asked.

"The agreement allowed advances for operating expenses, provided the transaction closed. I convinced myself we could persuade Helen. Then she said no. By then the money was gone."

Mom spoke so quietly we leaned forward to hear. "You didn't tell me because you knew I'd find another way."

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd stop trusting me."

"You took away my chance to help," she said. "That's what I can't forgive today."

Dad's eyes filled. He stared at the table while Mom put her uninjured hand over her wrist brace. I had never seen them so far apart while sitting so close.

Jonah arrived with a local attorney, Nina Patel, who represented the community land trust working on our proposed job-training center. Nina read the deposit agreement twice before speaking.

"Grant has a serious claim for repayment," she said. "But he doesn't automatically own this land. And he can't force an unauthorized sale just because Arthur spent an advance. We have to separate the debt from the fraud."

"Can they take our house?" Mom asked.

"That depends on the guarantees and what a court finds. I'm not promising an easy outcome."

I was grateful she didn't lie to us.

Nina pointed at the final page. "There's something else. This attachment says Helen was found unable to manage her financial affairs in July, and that her designated agent approved the proposed transfer. Who is this agent?"

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Under the typed words AGENT FOR HELEN MERCER was a signature that made my hands turn cold.

Harper Vale.