Chapter 5 - THE FAMILY VOTE
Carol arrived before dinner.
She did not come to see Lily first.
She came to defend Daniel.
Sarah sat in the living room with her daughter asleep in a bassinet beside her while Carol read the occupancy agreement twice.
“This looks legitimate.”
“It’s forged,” Sarah said.
Carol’s expression hardened.
“That is a serious accusation.”
“So is signing my name.”
Daniel paced near the fireplace.
“No one forged anything.”
Sarah turned.
“Then tell me when I signed it.”
He hesitated.
Ashley answered from the doorway.
“You signed a stack of household documents in July.”
Sarah remembered.
Insurance renewal forms. Landscaping contract. Pediatric pre-registration papers.
Daniel had placed sticky tabs where she needed to sign.
Sarah had been eight months pregnant and exhausted.
She had trusted him.
Megan, sitting beside her, said, “So you buried a lease in paperwork?”
Daniel snapped, “No.”
Ashley stayed calm.
“Sarah doesn’t remember everything she signs. That doesn’t make us criminals.”
The word us landed heavily.
Carol folded her hands.
“Sarah, you just gave birth. Emotions are high.”
Sarah stared at her.
“My hormones did not open a credit line.”
Silence.
Daniel stopped pacing.
Carol looked at him.
“What credit line?”
Sarah opened her laptop and turned the screen toward them.
The home-equity account.
The transfers.
Ashley’s company.
Daniel’s face went pale.
Ashley did not.
“That was an investment.”
“With my forged signature?”
“Your electronic approval is on the file.”
Sarah looked at Daniel.
“Did you use my laptop?”
“No.”
Too quick.
Ashley crossed her arms.
“You agreed Daniel could invest in my consulting business.”
“I agreed he could advise you. Not borrow against our house.”
Carol slowly stood.
“Daniel?”
He stared at the floor.
“I thought Sarah would be fine with it once she saw the returns.”
Sarah almost laughed.
“You risked our home to avoid asking me?”
“It’s not a risk.”
Ashley reached into her folder and placed a financial projection on the table.
The numbers looked professional.
Revenue forecasts. Contracts. Expected margins.
She had prepared for this confrontation.
Sarah understood then that Ashley was not simply spoiled.
She was strategic.
Sarah picked up the document.
At the bottom was the name of a legal firm that supposedly reviewed the investment.
Megan took a photo and sent it to a lawyer friend.
Ten minutes later, the response came back.
THAT FIRM CLOSED THREE YEARS AGO.
Sarah looked up.
Ashley’s confidence finally flickered.
Then Daniel’s phone buzzed.
He read the message.
His face drained.
“What?”
Sarah asked.
Daniel looked at Ashley.
May you like
“The bank just approved the second draw.”
For $120,000.
