No one asked permission.
Mother pointed directly at me.
“What have you done?”
“I’ve had breakfast.”
“Don’t play games.”
She threw a folder across my desk.
It slid to a stop beside my laptop.
A bright red stamp covered the first page.
LOAN SUSPENDED – FRAUD REVIEW
Grant’s face had lost its usual confidence.
“The bank froze everything.”
“I know.”
“You called them.”
“I did.”
Mother laughed sharply.
“Claire.”
“Don’t ruin your sister’s engagement over a harmless joke.”
I looked at her for several seconds.
Then I reached into my briefcase.
Slowly.
Carefully.
I removed the original loan guarantee.
Six hundred thousand dollars.
Bellamy House listed as collateral.
My forged signature at the bottom.
I placed it on the conference table.
Mother’s smile barely changed.
“Oh, honestly.”
“You’ve always been so dramatic.”
I turned the document toward her.
Then placed one finger beneath the signature.
“This isn’t about the joke, Mom.”
“It’s about the prison sentence.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Grant stepped closer.
His eyes dropped to the page.
For the first time since I’d met him…
