Chapter 7 - The Policy
I didn’t move.
“What about my life insurance?”
Sabrina wiped her face.
“Mom changed the beneficiary.”
“That policy is through my company.”
“I know.”
“She can’t change it.”
“She didn’t.”
My stomach tightened.
“You did?”
Sabrina shook her head.
“Raymond did.”
“How?”
“He had your information.”
“What information?”
“Everything.”
She looked ashamed.
“Social Security number. Date of birth. Account logins. Copies of your ID.”
“How did he get those?”
Silence.
I already knew.
“From you.”
Her chin trembled.
“At first he said it was for a background check.”
I stared at her.
“You gave a man who abandoned you my identity?”
“He’s my father!”
“No. He’s the man who showed up when he smelled money.”
She flinched.
I hated myself for shouting.
But not enough to stop.
“You gave him my Social Security number?”
“I didn’t know what he was doing!”
“But you knew about the bank transfers.”
She looked away.
“You knew about the forged approvals.”
Nothing.
“You went to the title company this morning.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Mom said you were going to leave her with nothing.”
My anger slowed.
“What?”
“She said you had hidden money for years. That you were planning to divorce her after the wedding.”
“That’s a lie.”
“I know that now.”
“How?”
“Because Raymond got angry when the loan failed.”
She wrapped her arms around herself.
“He said he didn’t care about Mom’s divorce settlement anymore. He said we needed enough cash to disappear.”
“Disappear where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sabrina.”
“I swear.”
The horn outside sounded again.
Longer.
She jumped.
I moved between her and the door.
“You’re not going with him.”
“I have to.”
“No.”
“Dad, please.”
“What does he have on you?”
Her lips shook.
Then she whispered, “Videos.”
I stared at her.
“What videos?”
“Of me signing things.”
My heart sank.
“He recorded you?”
“He told me they were normal documents.”
“What documents?”
“Loan applications. Account forms.”
She started sobbing.
“I didn’t read them.”
Jesus.
“Sabrina.”
“I know. I know.”
I wanted to hug her.
I also wanted to shake sense into her.
Instead, I asked, “Why would videos matter if you didn’t know?”
“Because some of the forms had your signature.”
I closed my eyes.
“You forged my name.”
“Raymond told me you approved it.”
“How many?”
“I don’t know.”
“How many, Sabrina?”
“Five.”
The room tilted.
“Five?”
“I thought Mom talked to you!”
The front door opened.
Raymond walked in.
He didn’t knock.
“Let’s go,” he said.
I stepped forward.
“You leave.”
He smiled.
“House still yours?”
Sabrina gasped.
Raymond looked at her.
“You told him?”
“No.”
He laughed.
“Doesn’t matter.”
I pointed toward the door.
“Get out.”
He took another step.
“You think you’re tough because you build chairs?”
I didn’t answer.
“You think paperwork makes you a man?”
Still nothing.
He got close enough that I could smell the smoke on his jacket.
Then he whispered, “You should’ve stayed out of it.”
I saw his hand move toward my chest.
He shoved me.
Hard.
I stumbled into the kitchen counter.
Sabrina screamed.
Raymond grabbed her wrist.
“Move.”
I straightened.
“Take your hand off her.”
He tightened his grip.
“Or what?”
I had spent thirty years lifting lumber, swinging hammers, hauling cabinets, and carrying sheet goods by myself.
Raymond mistook age for weakness.
That was his mistake.
I grabbed his wrist.
Twisted.
He shouted.
Then I drove him backward into the wall.
A framed family photo crashed to the floor.
Raymond swung.
His fist caught my cheek.
White light flashed.
I answered with one punch to his ribs.
He folded.
Sabrina screamed again.
“Stop!”
I stepped back.
Raymond coughed, then smiled from the floor.
“You idiot.”
He reached into his coat.
I froze.
He pulled out his phone.
The screen was recording.
“Got you.”
May you like
My blood went cold.
Then police sirens sounded outside.
