Chapter 6 - THE FAMILY SIGNATURE BUSINESS
Daniel had sworn I signed documents in Nevada on a Tuesday afternoon.
That Tuesday, I had been presenting at a fraud conference in Chicago.
Three hundred people had watched me speak onstage.
The irony would have been funny if it weren’t my life.
Priya obtained conference footage, hotel records, airline confirmations, and time-stamped photographs.
My alibi was stronger than most criminal defendants ever got.
When I called Daniel, he answered casually.
“Claire. Been a while.”
“Did you certify my signature on a home-equity loan?”
Silence.
Then:
“You should talk to Mark.”
“I’m talking to you.”
“It was family financing.”
“That phrase means nothing.”
“Mark told me you were on board.”
“Did you watch me sign?”
He exhaled.
“Not personally.”
“Then why did you say you did?”
“Claire, don’t make this bigger than it is.”
I nearly laughed.
“You put my name on a $210,000 loan.”
“No one was trying to hurt you.”
“That isn’t the standard.”
He hung up.
An hour later, Diane called.
Her tone was furious.
“You’re threatening Daniel’s career.”
“I haven’t contacted his employer.”
“Well, don’t.”
“Why?”
“Because family protects family.”
I looked out my hotel window.
“Interesting.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Two nights ago, you told me I wasn’t worth a plate of crab.”
“That was a joke.”
“No, Diane. It was a lesson.”
She scoffed.
“You’ve become incredibly dramatic.”
“Maybe.”
Then I asked the question I had been waiting to ask.
“Is your mortgage ninety days late?”
Silence.
Her breathing changed.
“Who told you that?”
“No one.”
“Then why would you ask?”
“Because you haven’t been paying it.”
She hung up.
I immediately checked the records I legally possessed.
The money I had sent for three mortgage payments had never gone to the mortgage.
Two days later, exactly as if the universe had written the scene for me, Diane called again.
This time she was crying.
“The bank says they’re starting foreclosure steps.”
I said nothing.
“Claire, we need $14,700 immediately.”
I looked at the empty plate photograph Vanessa had posted from dinner.
Then I smiled.
“My funds for you are exhausted.”
She gasped.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’ve never been more serious.”
“You’ll let me lose my home?”
“I already gave you the money to save it.”
She began screaming.
I ended the call.
Five minutes later, Priya emailed me.
Diane’s house was not merely ninety days behind.
There was a tax lien attached to it.
Amount:
May you like
$96,000.
And the lien belonged to Reynolds Family Holdings.
