Diane answered on the second ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cJosie?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cHome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll explain when I arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Cal with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her breathing changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer frightened her.<\/p>\n
I heard it.<\/p>\n
\u201cJosie, maybe you should come tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt's late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm coming now.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was silent.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n
We left Laura at the apartment with Eric, who had driven down after the police finished their initial work at his office.<\/p>\n
Laura gave me copies of the rejected affidavit and the altered loan documents.<\/p>\n
The signature attributed to me was almost perfect.<\/p>\n
Almost.<\/p>\n
One letter in my surname curved the wrong way.<\/p>\n
The same mistake appeared on the old checks.<\/p>\n
Cal's mistake.<\/p>\n
But the electronic submission had come from Diane's administrator account.<\/p>\n
Martin drove alone again.<\/p>\n
Stephanie came with me.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke much.<\/p>\n
By the time we reached the Kincaid house, darkness had settled.<\/p>\n
The Christmas lights were on.<\/p>\n
That detail made me angry.<\/p>\n
Three nights earlier I had sat inside that house believing the most uncomfortable subject at the table was a roof.<\/p>\n
Diane opened the door before we knocked.<\/p>\n
She saw Stephanie and stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou brought her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she saw Martin.<\/p>\n
Something passed between them.<\/p>\n
Not surprise.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
They had been expecting this moment eventually.<\/p>\n
We entered.<\/p>\n
The dining table had been cleared of Christmas decorations.<\/p>\n
I stood where Cal had announced that my bonus belonged to both of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me about Northline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane sat.<\/p>\n
She did not pretend ignorance.<\/p>\n
That was almost a relief.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did bookkeeping.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCal needed help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems to be the explanation for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you use my identity?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour administrator account submitted documents with my forged signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI uploaded them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's using my identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't forge anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho gave you the documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know I hadn't signed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Martin said, \u201cDiane.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said don't.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at my mother-in-law.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face crumpled slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked Cal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you had agreed but didn't want your name publicly attached.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you believed that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not belief.<\/p>\n
Permission to avoid knowing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you need my signature?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura says you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane's eyes moved toward Martin.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after she refused the documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane folded her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus said the financing would collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCal panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI submitted what he gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith my forged signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt strangely calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you personally gain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The anonymous message returned to me.<\/p>\n
Why Diane needed your signature too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't take your money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you take?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why was my credit needed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin sat across from her.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell her about the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane's face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat house?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither answered.<\/p>\n
I looked between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe roof?\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane laughed once, bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe roof is real.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't ask whether it leaks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said quietly, \u201cThe house wasn't ours anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe transferred it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie whispered, \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane looked at her husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou promised.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPromises are why we're here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthline bought our house eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Cal's company buy your house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo create collateral.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the roof belongs to Northline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why were you discussing paying for it personally?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we still live here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho owns Northline now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
I already knew the answer would hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane said, \u201cOn paper, you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour ownership was used to qualify the refinancing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never signed anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My legs weakened.<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
They had not merely borrowed using my identity.<\/p>\n
They had assigned assets and ownership to me without my knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your credit was clean.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because if Northline failed,\u201d I said slowly, \u201cthe debt could land on me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Diane said quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA company I supposedly own.\u201d<\/p>\n
She had no response.<\/p>\n
I understood the roof story now.<\/p>\n
If I paid eleven thousand dollars toward repairs, the payment could later be framed as evidence that I knew I had an interest in the property.<\/p>\n
Maybe that wasn't the original plan.<\/p>\n
Maybe it was.<\/p>\n
I no longer trusted coincidences.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Cal tell you to bring up the roof at Christmas?\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought it up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know he would offer my bonus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know he needed my bonus for Marcus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin turned sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew he needed money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you stop him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe's my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I'm what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter-in-law.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat answer is exactly the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked down.<\/p>\n
For years, I had interpreted Diane's loyalty as warmth.<\/p>\n
Now I saw its boundary.<\/p>\n
I belonged until protecting me conflicted with protecting Cal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he contact you today?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJosie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She hesitated.<\/p>\n
Martin held out his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiane.\u201d<\/p>\n
She surrendered the phone.<\/p>\n
There was a deleted message thread.<\/p>\n
Recently deleted.<\/p>\n
Cal.<\/p>\n
I restored it.<\/p>\n
His last message had arrived less than an hour earlier.<\/p>\n
Did Dad give her the key?<\/p>\n
Diane replied:<\/p>\n
I don't know.<\/p>\n
Cal:<\/p>\n
Find out.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
If she gets into the apartment before me, everything changes.<\/p>\n
Diane had responded:<\/p>\n
What is still there?<\/p>\n
Cal:<\/p>\n
Not over text.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told him we were going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't tell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The anonymous sender seemed to know our movements.<\/p>\n
Cal seemed to know some of them too.<\/p>\n
Someone was connecting both sides.<\/p>\n
I searched further.<\/p>\n
An older thread mentioned the roof.<\/p>\n
Diane:<\/p>\n
Estimate came back 10.8.<\/p>\n
Cal:<\/p>\n
Don't pay yet.<\/p>\n
Diane:<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Cal:<\/p>\n
I may have a way.<\/p>\n
That was two weeks before Christmas.<\/p>\n
My bonus had not arrived yet.<\/p>\n
But Cal knew approximately what it would be.<\/p>\n
I remembered telling him months earlier that company bonuses were expected to be stronger.<\/p>\n
He had been planning around money I had not earned yet.<\/p>\n
Then I found another exchange.<\/p>\n
Diane:<\/p>\n
You cannot keep using Josie's information.<\/p>\n
Cal:<\/p>\n
Last time.<\/p>\n
Diane:<\/p>\n
You said that before.<\/p>\n
Cal:<\/p>\n
If this closes, all of it gets cleaned up.<\/p>\n
Diane:<\/p>\n
And if it doesn't?<\/p>\n
Cal:<\/p>\n
Then I leave.<\/p>\n
I stared at the date.<\/p>\n
Seven months ago.<\/p>\n
Cal had been contemplating leaving long before the suitcase.<\/p>\n
Long before Christmas.<\/p>\n
Maybe long before the Charlotte job.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know he planned to leave me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane looked devastated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said temporarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I put the phone down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else haven't you told me?\u201d<\/p>\n
She began crying.<\/p>\n
Quietly.<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
Eventually she said, \u201cEmma isn't the reason he kept going to Charlotte.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was another woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
I thought of Laura.<\/p>\n
Blonde.<\/p>\n
Short hair.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Laura.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know her full name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart thudded.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years, maybe longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie stared at Diane.<\/p>\n
\u201cCal had an affair?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw them together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDecember fourteenth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin stared at his wife.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you stayed home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI followed you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou followed me to Charlotte?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Cal called you panicking.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you see?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca leaving the apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Laura?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she look like?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDark hair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not the blonde witness.<\/p>\n
A different woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was angry. Cal followed her downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they touch?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane looked at me with pity.<\/p>\n
I hated that expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kissed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
After everything else, adultery should have felt small.<\/p>\n
It didn't.<\/p>\n
Betrayal does not become painless simply because larger betrayals exist beside it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Rebecca know about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know about Emma?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard Cal call her Becca.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie suddenly went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
We looked at her.<\/p>\n
She whispered, \u201cRebecca Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane's face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. But I know the name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus's sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to contract.<\/p>\n
The apartment.<\/p>\n
The financing.<\/p>\n
The affair.<\/p>\n
The insurance.<\/p>\n
The date.<\/p>\n
Nothing had been separate.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cWhy would Marcus keep lending money to a man sleeping with his sister?\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe he didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said, \u201cMarcus knew everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
We turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause that's why the debt changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter December fourteenth, Marcus stopped treating Cal like a borrower.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he treat him like?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA liability.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Marcus threaten him because of Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why keep doing business?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Cal knew things about Marcus too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat things?\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin looked at Diane.<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat things?\u201d<\/p>\n
He answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere the money came from.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
One message.<\/p>\n
Rebecca is alive.<\/p>\n
I hadn't realized until then that some part of me had assumed otherwise.<\/p>\n
Another arrived.<\/p>\n
And she is the person you need to find before Cal does.<\/p>\n
Diane answered on the second ring. \u201cJosie?\u201d \u201cWhere are you?\u201d A pause. \u201cHome.\u201d \u201cStay there.\u201d \u201cWhat happened?\u201d \u201cI'll explain when I arrive.\u201d Another pause. \u201cIs Cal with you?\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d Her … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6342,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6311\/revisions\/6342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}