Chapter 2 - The Signature They Needed
"Why did you lock the door?"
Claire's voice sounded calmer than she felt.
Daniel stood between her and the hallway.
"You shouldn't be walking around."
"Why is my property on this loan?"
Daniel looked at the paper.
"It's complicated."
"Then explain it."
"I was going to."
"When?"
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.
Claire had seen him do that during arguments before. It usually meant he wanted to appear overwhelmed rather than responsible.
This time she did not soften.
"Did you apply for a loan against property that belongs to me?"
"I made an inquiry."
"This says owner consent pending."
"Exactly. Nothing happened."
"You used my property as collateral."
"I looked at options."
"Without telling me."
Daniel lowered his voice.
"We have expenses, Claire."
"We have a mortgage and normal bills. We are not in financial trouble."
His silence answered before his words did.
Claire felt cold.
"Are we?"
Daniel looked toward the window.
"Things got tight."
"How tight?"
"It isn't just us."
That sentence would become important.
At the time, Claire did not understand it.
Daniel sat on the edge of the bed.
"My dad's business took a hit."
Richard owned a small appliance supply company that had existed for decades. Claire had always assumed it was stable.
"What does your father's business have to do with my inheritance?"
"He helped us when we bought our place."
"He gave us fifteen thousand dollars."
"He did more than that."
"How much?"
Daniel looked angry now.
Not because she had accused him.
Because she kept asking.
"Why are you interrogating me?"
Claire almost laughed.
"My property is on a lender document I didn't know existed."
"Nothing has been signed."
"Because they need my signature."
Daniel stood.
"Yes."
There it was.
Claire folded the paper.
"No."
"Claire."
"No."
"You don't even know the terms."
"I don't care about the terms."
"We could protect everyone."
"You mean your family."
"My family is your family."
"Then your family should have asked me before putting my name on a loan application."
Daniel moved closer.
"You are being emotional."
Claire stared at him.
"You used my identity."
"I used information I already had."
"That sentence is worse."
A knock sounded at the door.
Daniel opened it only halfway.
Margaret stood outside in her robe.
"Everything okay?"
"Fine," Daniel said.
Claire answered at the same time.
"No."
Margaret's gaze settled on the document.
Understanding arrived instantly.
Claire saw it.
"You knew."
Margaret entered the room.
"Daniel was trying to solve a family problem."
"With my property."
"You have resources."
"So do you."
Margaret's mouth tightened.
"You don't understand what Richard built."
"And you don't understand what my aunt left me."
"Your aunt had no children."
"That is why she left it to me."
Margaret stepped closer.
"She left you more than one woman needs."
Claire actually laughed then.
Quietly.
Disbelievingly.
Daniel looked embarrassed, but not by his mother.
By Claire.
Margaret continued.
"Richard could lose the company."
"Then sell the company."
Margaret's face hardened.
"You don't mean that."
"I absolutely do."
Daniel whispered her name in warning.
Claire turned toward him.
"You will tell that lender tomorrow that I do not consent."
"We can't do that yet."
"We?"
"The deadline is Friday."
"What deadline?"
Nobody answered.
Claire suddenly understood.
The loan inquiry was not the beginning.
It was the end of something.
Something they had been hiding long before her ankle injury.
"What did you do?"
Daniel looked away.
Claire took one step toward him despite the pain.
"What did you do, Daniel?"
Margaret spoke.
"The company owes money."
"How much?"
"Enough."
"That isn't an answer."
"Seven hundred and forty thousand dollars."
Claire stopped breathing.
Richard's company was small.
That amount could destroy it.
"How?"
Margaret folded her arms.
"There were investments."
"What investments?"
"Business investments."
Claire looked at Daniel.
He could not meet her eyes.
She understood there was still more.
"Your name is on some of it," Margaret said.
Claire turned sharply.
"What?"
Daniel finally spoke.
"I guaranteed part of the debt."
"With my name?"
"Our names."
"I never signed anything."
"You signed documents when we bought the townhouse."
Claire felt nauseated.
Those documents were three years old.
"You copied my signature?"
"No."
Margaret interrupted.
"Nobody copied anything."
But Daniel's expression said otherwise.
Claire moved toward the door.
"I'm calling a lawyer."
Daniel blocked her.
"Tomorrow."
"Now."
"Claire, calm down."
She tried to move around him.
He caught her arm.
Claire pulled back.
"Take your hand off me."
For the first time, Daniel did not.
May you like
Margaret quietly closed the bedroom door behind her.
And Claire realized the locked door had never been about protecting her ankle.
