Chapter 5 - THE DAY THE MONEY STOPPED
The first account froze on Monday morning.
By Tuesday, three vendors had suspended credit.
By Wednesday, Diane called me thirteen times.
I did not celebrate.
That surprised me.
For years, I imagined that if I ever stopped rescuing these people, I would feel powerful.
Instead, I mostly felt tired.
The bank had frozen C&E’s operating account after receiving my identity-fraud affidavit.
Bennett Contracting’s revolving credit line was placed under review because of the disputed guarantee.
A bonding company suspended new approvals.
None of that came from revenge.
It came from institutions discovering that the woman whose name supported the paperwork was saying:
I never signed this.
Eric’s company still had some legitimate projects.
But cash flow tightened immediately.
Mark’s weekly “operations manager” payment from C&E disappeared.
Diane’s $4,000 monthly “consulting fee” disappeared.
Even Richard, Diane’s cousin, had been receiving payments for something called strategic logistics.
I had never heard of him.
The fake company supported half the family.
Then Naomi showed me the financial statements.
C&E looked profitable.
Bennett Contracting did not.
Eric’s real business had lost money for six consecutive quarters.
C&E had been transferring cash into it.
My identity wasn’t simply helping him win contracts.
It was keeping his company alive.
At 4:30 p.m., Eric arrived at my hotel.
I met him in the lobby.
Public.
Cameras everywhere.
He looked angry and frightened.
“You’re killing the company.”
“No. I reported signatures I didn’t make.”
“Same result.”
“That’s your problem.”
“Twenty-two employees have families.”
I leaned forward.
“Then you should have thought about them before building payroll on fraudulent documents.”
His expression changed.
“I didn’t forge everything.”
The word everything hung between us.
“So you forged some?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then tell me what you meant.”
He looked around.
“My mother handled C&E.”
“Using my identity?”
“She said you’d eventually agree.”
I actually stared at him.
“You created a company in my name because you assumed I would eventually agree?”
“It was supposed to help us.”
“Who is us?”
He had no answer.
Then I placed a copy of the $280,000 guarantee on the table.
“Did you sign my name?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
He was lying.
I could see it.
I stood to leave.
Eric grabbed the edge of the table.
“Claire, wait.”
I stopped.
His voice dropped.
“If the bank audits everything, they’re going to find something else.”
I turned back.
“What?”
He looked terrified now.
Not angry.
Terrified.
“There are tax returns you’ve never seen.”
My stomach tightened.
“Whose?”
May you like
He swallowed.
“Yours.”
