“I was protecting the family from financial ruin. I had debts. The company had obligations. I thought I could fix everything before anyone noticed.”
“By stealing my house?” Eleanor asked.
“By borrowing against it. I would have paid it all back.”
“With what?” Claire asked. “The money you took from Mom’s savings? The money you transferred to your company? The money you were planning to get when you sold the house?”
Daniel looked at her with open hostility.
“You think you’re better than me because you stayed away and built your little life somewhere else?”
“No,” Claire replied. “I think I am standing here because I finally came home.”
She reached for her phone.
Daniel’s expression sharpened.
“Who are you calling?”
“Mom’s attorney.”
He lunged toward the table.
Eleanor stepped between them.
“Don’t you dare.”
For one terrible moment, Daniel seemed to consider pushing past her. He stopped when he saw the look on her face.
She was frightened. Claire could see that. Her mother’s hand was shaking, and her shoulders had drawn inward as though she were preparing to be struck by something that had not yet happened.
But she did not move aside.
“You will not frighten me into silence again,” Eleanor said.
Daniel stared at her.
Then he looked at his sister, whose phone was pressed to her ear.
“This is going to destroy everything,” he said.
Eleanor’s expression softened, but not with forgiveness.
“No, Daniel. You did that yourself.”
The attorney answered.
Claire explained what they had found, speaking carefully through the shock. The attorney, Ruth Ellis, had helped Eleanor review several suspicious transactions after a bank employee questioned an unusual transfer. Ruth had been waiting for the remaining records to determine the full extent of the problem.
When Claire mentioned the forged signature, Ruth asked them not to alter the original files or confront Daniel further without assistance. She arranged to come to the house immediately and contacted the appropriate authorities.
Daniel listened with growing disbelief.
“You called a lawyer on me?”
“My lawyer,” Eleanor said.
“You’re my mother.”
