Chapter 3 - The Son Who Wouldn't Look at Me
Evan came back after dark with a paper bag from the diner on Maple Street, the place Robert used to take him after Little League games.
I almost opened the door out of habit, then remembered the folder in Brooke's hands.
"I brought dinner," he said through the glass. "Your favorite."
"My favorite was never a substitute for an apology."
He lowered the bag. "Can I come in?"
I let him enter, but I didn't offer him a seat. He stood beneath the photograph of his father holding him on graduation day. That night, it looked less like a family memory than evidence in a case I hadn't wanted to open.
"Tell me what you signed," I said.
"A packet. Brooke said it was for refinancing her business loan. She told me you were going to sign your part later."
"My part of what?"
"The house was collateral. Just temporarily."
I stared at him. "You put my home up as collateral without asking me?"
"I thought you would agree once we explained it. The business is in trouble, Mom. We're behind with the supplier, and a client is suing us over a renovation. If we don't find the money, we lose everything."
"So you decided I should lose my home first."
His jaw moved, but no words came out.
He said Brooke handled the legal documents and had shown him a copy of my signature, claiming I had signed at the bank. When I asked why he hadn't confirmed it with me, he looked at the floor.
"I didn't want to fight with her," he said.
"And you were willing to fight with me instead."
He flinched. I wanted to take the sentence back, but a softer voice would not make him honest.
"You need to leave," I said.
"Mom, please. Brooke says the transfer is already done."
"Brooke says a lot of things."
I showed him the email from the title company. He read the signature and went pale. For a moment, I thought he might tell me everything. Instead, he handed the phone back as if it were hot.
"I didn't make that," he said.
"I didn't ask if you made it. I asked what you knew."
He left without finishing his dinner.
When I called Daniel, he told me the filing was not the same as a lawful transfer, but the title company had scheduled a review anyway. We needed a sworn statement, proof of my location on the date of the alleged signing, and the original trust papers.
I hung up and opened the calendar on the wall.
May you like
The deed said I had signed on Monday at 2:15 p.m.
At 2:15 on Monday, I had been under sedation for cataract surgery.
