Chapter 12 - THE SECOND VISIT
Daniel parked behind Rachel’s car, blocking the driveway. Through the window, I saw him get out and walk toward the porch. He carried no box this time.
Nora was still at the kitchen table. She called the police while I stayed inside.
Daniel knocked. “Emily, I need five minutes.”
Richard stepped into the hall. “Go home, son.”
Daniel heard him through the door. “You’re there? You gave her the records?”
“I did.”
“You signed the guarantee.”
“I know.”
Daniel hit the door with his palm. I flinched before I could stop myself.
“Emily,” he said, softer now, “I shouldn’t have come here angry. Please. Michael says the company can still make the payment if you withdraw your objection.”
“You forged my name,” I said.
There was a long silence.
“I didn’t make the license,” he said.
“You sent the paperwork.”
“I thought you’d sign once you understood the deal.”
“Then why put my signature on it first?”
He didn’t answer.
“I loved you,” I said.
“I love you.”
I looked at Richard, at Rachel, at the cassette and letters spread across Grandma’s table. “You planned this before we got married.”
“I planned a way for us to have money. For everyone to be okay.”
“The house was already mine.”
His voice rose. “You wouldn’t even discuss selling a strip of dirt!”
“It was mine to decide.”
A patrol car turned into the street. Daniel saw it and stepped back from the door. The officers spoke to him on the porch while Nora and I stayed inside. He left a few minutes later.
I watched his taillights disappear. My hands were cold, but I was glad I had spoken plainly.
The next morning, Nora received a call from the county office. The parcel combination had been halted. The lien was still under review, but Michael could no longer use the orchard transfer to meet the lender’s deadline.
Then Paula called.
“I found another attachment in Daniel’s email,” she said. “It wasn’t with the notary pages I printed.”
“What is it?”
“A statement saying you received the loan money yourself.”
May you like
Nora asked Paula to forward it.
The statement listed a bank account in my name. I had never opened it.
