Chapter 5 - THE TRUSTS THEY USED LIKE CHECKING ACCOUNTS
Dad called the $74,000 a loan.
Rebecca asked for the loan agreement.
He didn’t have one.
He said it had been repaid.
Bank records said otherwise.
The more we looked, the uglier it became.
Grandma had created two trusts.
One for Chloe.
One for me.
She had not divided them equally by accident.
Mine held slightly more because I was older and closer to college.
Our parents were temporary co-trustees.
They were supposed to use the funds only for education, housing, health care, or direct benefit.
Instead, Dad treated them like emergency family accounts.
Chloe’s wedding shortfall.
Flynn’s business expenses.
Mom’s medical deductible.
Repairs to my parents’ roof.
Dad’s consulting company.
Even preschool tuition.
Some expenditures arguably benefited Chloe.
Others clearly did not.
And mine?
Almost $90,000 of my supposed “education expenses” had gone into household accounts.
I stared at Mom.
“You asked me to pay rent while living at home.”
She nodded weakly.
“You were working.”
“You were also charging my trust for my housing.”
Silence.
“So I paid twice.”
Dad snapped:
“We raised you for eighteen years.”
Rebecca interrupted before I could.
“Parenting is not a reimbursable service against a child’s trust unless the trust specifically says so.”
Dad looked like he hated her.
I was beginning to love her.
Chloe turned toward Flynn.
“How much did you know?”
His face changed.
“About what?”
“The trust.”
“I knew your parents helped us.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Flynn looked at the table.
“I knew some money came from an inheritance.”
Chloe stood.
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try.”
He swallowed.
“Maybe a hundred thousand over the years.”
She went pale.
“You knew Grandma left me money?”
“Your dad said he was managing it.”
“And you never told me?”
“I thought you knew.”
“That’s a lie.”
Flynn said nothing.
It was.
Then Rebecca received an email from the lender handling my mortgage.
We had asked them to flag unauthorized activity.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She turned the laptop toward me.
Three months earlier, someone had applied for a home-equity line of credit against my apartment.
Requested amount:
$180,000.
Applicant:
Jessica Morgan.
I stopped breathing.
“I never applied.”
Rebecca nodded.
“I know.”
Co-borrower:
Flynn Reed.
May you like
Chloe stared at her husband.
And this time, Flynn did not say he thought she knew.
