Chapter 5: The Lie Beneath the Lie
Rachel’s face lost its color.
“What are you talking about, Mum?”
Margaret laughed softly through the phone.
“Ask Eleanor what she used the house to guarantee.”
Eleanor shut her eyes.
Claire turned toward her.
“Mum?”
“It was after your father became ill,” Eleanor said.
“His business was failing.”
“What did you guarantee?”
“A loan.”
“How much?”
Eleanor whispered the amount.
Claire sat back on her heels.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because your father repaid most of it before he passed.”
“Most?”
Daniel’s voice replaced Margaret’s on the call.
“The remaining balance is why the property is vulnerable.”
Claire grabbed Rachel’s phone.
“You knew about this?”
“I found the loan agreement in Eleanor’s files.”
“And instead of telling us, you arranged to buy her home?”
“I arranged to clear the debt.”
“With my money, through your mother’s company, for half its value.”
Daniel’s voice sharpened.
“If the lender calls in the balance, your mother could lose everything.”
June pulled a chair close to Eleanor.
“Who is the lender?”
Eleanor told her.
June frowned.
“That bank merged years ago.
The balance may not even be enforceable.”
“It is,” Daniel said.
“I checked.”
“Send me the current statement,” June replied.
Silence followed.
“Daniel?” Claire said.
“I don’t have to prove myself to an estate agent.”
“No,” June said, “but you will have to prove the debt exists before any title company closes this sale.”
Daniel ended the call.
Rachel lowered her head.
“He lied about the loan, didn’t he?”
“We don’t know yet,” Claire said.
June tapped the papers into a neat stack.
“I know someone who can find out.”
The next morning, they sat across from bank manager Owen Blake.
He studied Eleanor’s identification, then turned his screen toward her.
“The old loan was discharged nine years ago.”
Eleanor leaned closer.
“Discharged?”
“Paid in full by your husband’s life-insurance policy.”
Claire’s hand closed over her mother’s.
“Then what debt did Daniel show the real estate company?” she asked.
Owen opened another file.
“A new line of credit was requested four months ago against this property.”
“Requested by whom?”
“Daniel Mercer, acting under Eleanor’s temporary power of attorney.”
Eleanor rose so quickly that her chair scraped the floor.
“I never authorized a loan.”
Owen lifted one palm.
“It was not completed.
Our compliance team questioned the signature.”
“Why wasn’t I told?” Eleanor demanded.
“A letter was sent to your home.”
Claire looked at her mother.
“The mail Daniel was collecting.”
June placed the sale document beside Owen’s keyboard.
“Can you confirm whether this debt statement came from your bank?”
He read the first page, then reached for the telephone.
“This account number does not belong to Eleanor.”
Rachel leaned forward.
“Whose is it?”
Owen looked at Claire.
“The account is held by Morrow Family Holdings.”
Margaret’s company had borrowed money, then attached Eleanor’s address to the paperwork as if the debt belonged to her.
Claire’s phone rang.
Daniel’s name filled the screen.
“Put it on speaker,” Owen said.
Claire answered.
“Come home,” Daniel told her.
“We can still fix this.”
“You fabricated my mother’s debt.”
“I moved numbers on paper.
No one has lost anything.”
“You took our emergency savings.”
“Mum will return it when the house is sold.”
“The house is not being sold.”
Daniel went silent.
Then he said, “If you stop the transfer, I’ll give the lender the original power of attorney and let them decide whether Eleanor’s signature is valid.”
Owen pushed a notepad toward Claire and wrote: Keep him talking.
“What do you want?” Claire asked.
“Sign the consent form.
Let my mother buy the house.”
“And if I refuse?”
Daniel’s voice became cold.
“Then your mother will spend every penny she has defending herself.”
A second voice sounded behind him.
May you like
“Daniel, end the call,” Margaret ordered.
But before the line disconnected, Claire heard paper tearing.
