He’s your son.”
“That does not make forgery legal.”
“You live in an apartment,” she said.
“You don’t need a house across town.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
For years, I had wondered whether Jessica’s distance came from insecurity, awkwardness, or simple differences in temperament.
At that moment, I understood that she had never viewed my help as generosity.
She considered it unused property waiting to be claimed.
Michael asked me to photograph every page currently in Daniel’s hands and email the images to him.
I did.
He then advised us not to alter, destroy, or sign anything.
“The closing was scheduled for Monday morning,” he said.
“Margaret’s trust transfer and ownership notice reached the county recorder before the lender released funds.
Without that, the loan might have closed against a fraudulent title.”
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.
“How much has already been spent? Jessica said some of the money was gone.”
Michael paused.
“The lender did not release the loan.
Any money she spent came from another source.”
We all looked at Jessica.
She pressed her lips together.
“Answer him,” I said.
“Deposits,” she replied.
“From whom?” Daniel asked.
“Clients.
Investors.
A few friends.”
“How much?”
“It doesn’t matter because the loan was going to replace it.”
Daniel stood so quickly that his chair scraped the floor.
“How much?”
“About thirty thousand.”
The figure hung between us.
Jessica had collected advance memberships for a studio that did not yet exist.
She had signed a lease for a commercial space, ordered imported furniture, hired a designer, and taken deposits from women who believed the business was fully funded.
She had used part of their money for what she called promotional expenses.
Those expenses included the designer handbag I had seen on the kitchen island and a five-night resort trip she had described to Daniel as a discounted anniversary package.
Daniel stared at her as if he were meeting her for the first time.
“You told me your sister paid for that trip.”
“She helped.”
“Did she?”
Jessica did not answer.
Michael ended the call after arranging a meeting for Monday morning.
He wanted Daniel to bring every financial statement, tax record, device, and business document he could find.
He also warned Jessica that she should seek separate legal counsel.
That warning frightened her more than anything else he had said.
The moment the call ended, she changed tactics.
She sat beside Daniel and softened her voice.
“I did this for us.
You hate your job.
You complain every night that you’re exhausted.
Bellamere was supposed to give us freedom.”
Daniel moved his chair away from her.
“You did not build a business for us.
You formed it in your name.”
