“And I was here alone.”
I glanced around the apartment.
His mother’s belongings filled every room.
My possessions had been boxed, stacked, or removed.
“You were not alone.”
His face hardened.
Daniel returned from the wall panel after restricting the elevator.
A uniformed security officer named Marcus joined us from the stairwell.
Lena asked Daniel to preserve every recording showing Thomas, Mrs.
Higgins, Nina, any appraiser, and anyone carrying documents into the building.
Daniel confirmed that he would make two copies immediately.
Then Lena called the title company handling the proposed loan.
She kept us on a conference line while a fraud officer reviewed the file.
The application listed Thomas as my court-appointed financial guardian.
The order attached to the application was not a final court order.
It was merely a proposed order drafted by Thomas’s attorney and submitted with the emergency petition.
Someone had removed the word “proposed” from the first page before sending it to the lender.
The fraud officer stopped speaking for several seconds.
“This loan is frozen effective immediately,” she finally said.
“No funds will be disbursed.
Our legal department will preserve the application records and contact law enforcement.”
Mrs.
Higgins gripped the edge of the counter.
“You cannot freeze our money.”
The room went still.
The fraud officer asked, “What money are you referring to, ma’am?”
Mrs.
Higgins realized her mistake too late.
Thomas turned on her.
“Mom, stop talking.”
“It was supposed to pay off what we owe,” she snapped.
“You said it would clear tomorrow.”
“What do you owe?” I asked.
Neither of them answered.
The loan documents answered for them.
The $240,000 was scheduled to be deposited into an account owned by Higgins Restoration LLC, a company formed six weeks earlier.
Mrs.
Higgins was listed as its manager.
Thomas was listed as an authorized signer.
The company had no employees, no office, and no active projects.
It did, however, share an address with a house Mrs.
Higgins had lost to a tax sale two years earlier.
They had planned to use the equity in my apartment to settle her debts and purchase another property.
The guardianship order would give Thomas temporary control over my accounts.
The forged deed would make the apartment appear jointly owned.
The fraudulent medical letter would explain why I was not present to sign the closing documents.
My absence had not created their plan.
It had created their opportunity.
Thomas seemed to read the conclusion on my face.
“I did this for us,” he said.
“You transferred my home to your mother.”
“She needed help.”
“So you stole from me.”
“I was going to put everything back once the loan was paid.”
“How were you going to repay $240,000?”
