Chapter 5
Linda stared at Martin like she wanted to kill him.
The officers immediately noticed.
The female officer stepped between them.
“Everyone stays where they are.”
Martin raised both hands.
“I didn’t notarize the lease.”
Linda laughed sharply.
“Now you’re lying to save yourself.”
“I helped with the deed.”
His voice shook.
“I helped with the guardianship form.”
My stomach twisted hearing him admit it so plainly.
“But not the lease.”
Ethan stared at him.
“You helped her deceive Emily?”
Martin swallowed.
“I was told Emily knew what she was signing.”
“You just said Linda explained the documents.”
“I should have verified more carefully.”
“That’s a nice way of saying you didn’t care.”
Martin lowered his eyes.
Linda snapped, “He was paid to witness signatures. That’s all.”
The officer turned.
“You paid him?”
Linda realized what she had said.
“I paid his fee.”
“How much?”
“Normal fees.”
Martin laughed bitterly.
Linda glared at him.
The officer looked toward Martin.
“How much?”
He hesitated.
“Five thousand.”
Ethan almost shouted.
“Five thousand dollars?”
“For all the documents.”
“That’s not a normal notary fee.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
Martin looked at me.
Guilt appeared on his face.
“I needed money.”
Linda shouted, “Stop talking.”
The younger officer stepped toward her.
“Ma’am, you need to remain quiet unless we ask you a question.”
“I know my rights.”
“Then exercise your right to remain silent.”
For once, Linda had nothing to say.
The female officer asked Martin, “Where did the five thousand come from?”
“Cash.”
“Do you know where she got it?”
“No.”
I looked at Ethan.
His expression changed at the same moment mine did.
Our emergency fund.
We kept cash in a small home safe in the bedroom closet.
Money for repairs.
Medical emergencies.
Unexpected expenses.
About seven thousand dollars.
Ethan ran upstairs.
Linda suddenly looked terrified.
“Ethan!”
The officer blocked her when she tried to follow.
A minute later, Ethan came down holding the small metal cash box.
He opened it.
Empty.
He looked at his mother.
“You took it.”
Linda stared at the floor.
“That money was for this family.”
“So you stole it from this family.”
“I borrowed it.”
“Without asking?”
“I was going to replace it.”
“With what?”
Linda’s eyes flickered toward me.
The house.
The realization was awful.
“You were going to borrow against my house,” I whispered.
Nobody answered.
I looked at the documents.
“You were going to take ownership, then borrow money against it.”
Linda finally spoke.
“I was trying to solve a problem.”
“What problem?”
She pressed her lips together.
Ethan stared at her.
“What problem, Mom?”
“I don’t owe you an explanation.”
“You stole seven thousand dollars from our safe.”
“It was partly your money.”
“Partly.”
“I’m your mother.”
“That doesn’t make it yours.”
Linda’s control finally cracked.
“I had debts!”
Silence.
Ethan frowned.
“What debts?”
She shook her head.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“You stole from us because of them.”
“Because I was trying to keep people from coming after me.”
My skin went cold.
“What people?”
Linda looked away.
The female officer stepped closer.
“Is someone threatening you?”
“No.”
“You just said people were coming after you.”
“I meant creditors.”
“What kind of creditors?”
“Private.”
Ethan stared at her.
“How much do you owe?”
Linda didn’t answer.
“Ten thousand?”
Nothing.
“Twenty?”
Her face tightened.
“Fifty?”
Still nothing.
Ethan stopped.
“Oh my God.”
I whispered, “How much?”
Linda looked at him.
“One hundred eighty thousand.”
The number felt impossible.
Ethan actually laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because his brain seemed unable to process it.
“One hundred eighty thousand dollars?”
Linda nodded.
“How?”
“I made investments.”
“What investments?”
“They went bad.”
“What kind?”
“Property.”
“Where?”
She looked away again.
Martin said quietly, “Online.”
Linda turned toward him.
“Shut your mouth.”
The officer shifted between them.
Martin continued.
“She told me she lost money in cryptocurrency.”
Ethan’s face collapsed.
“Crypto?”
Linda looked embarrassed now.
Almost childish.
“I was told it was guaranteed.”
“Nothing is guaranteed!”
“I know that now.”
“How much did you put in?”
“My savings.”
“All of it?”
She nodded.
“And then?”
“I borrowed.”
“From a bank?”
“No.”
Ethan stared.
“Who?”
Linda didn’t respond.
Martin did.
“A man named Victor.”
Linda closed her eyes.
The officer immediately asked, “Victor what?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do you know about him?”
Martin rubbed his palms against his pants.
“Linda said if the house transfer went through, she could refinance and pay Victor.”
I felt suddenly nauseous.
The house was worth nearly six hundred thousand dollars.
My grandmother had paid it off before she died.
No mortgage.
That was why Linda wanted it.
Not for Ethan.
Not for Noah.
For debt.
“You were going to put a loan on my grandmother’s house.”
Linda looked at me.
“I would have made the payments.”
“With what money?”
“I would figure it out.”
“You don’t have a job.”
“I have income.”
“What income?”
Silence.
Ethan lowered himself into a chair.
It was the first time I had ever seen him look defeated.
“Mom.”
His voice barely carried.
“Were you planning to take all of it?”
She frowned.
“What?”
“The equity.”
“No.”
“How much?”
“Enough to clear the debt.”
“One hundred eighty thousand.”
“And expenses.”
“What expenses?”
She didn’t answer.
“Mom.”
“Maybe two hundred twenty.”
I nearly dropped into the chair beside him.
Over two hundred thousand dollars.
Behind the fear came anger.
Pure anger.
“You hurt me for money.”
Linda looked offended.
“I never hurt you.”
“You grabbed my hair.”
“That was frustration.”
“You kept me from feeding Noah.”
“For twenty minutes.”
“You may have given me extra medication.”
“I did not.”
“You lied to me about legal papers.”
“To protect everyone.”
“Stop saying that!”
My scream made the room freeze.
Noah whimpered.
I immediately lowered my voice.
Tears poured down my face.
“You don’t get to call theft protection.”
Linda’s face hardened.
“I was desperate.”
“So you chose me.”
“You were the only one with an asset big enough.”
The honesty shocked me.
Ethan slowly raised his head.
“You didn’t even think of her as family.”
Linda blinked.
“What?”
“You saw Emily as an asset.”
“That isn’t fair.”
“It’s exactly what you just said.”
“I love her.”
“No.”
He stood.
“You tolerated her because she gave you access to something you needed.”
“That’s not true.”
“You told her she was lazy after childbirth.”
“I was under stress.”
“You threatened to throw her out of her own house.”
“I didn’t mean it.”
“You prepared papers to steal that house.”
“I was going to pay it back.”
“You were trying to take Noah too.”
Linda shook her head violently.
“No. Never.”
“Then why the guardianship document?”
Her mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
The female officer looked at the document again.
“What exactly does it grant?”
Ethan read.
“It gives Linda temporary authority over Noah if Emily is hospitalized or determined unable to care for him.”
“Does it affect my rights?” he asked.
The officer shook her head.
“Not automatically. But it could be used as supporting paperwork in a family dispute.”
Linda spoke fast.
“It was for emergencies.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“What emergency were you expecting?”
Then I remembered something.
Two nights earlier.
Linda standing in the hallway while I cried from exhaustion.
She had said, “Maybe you should go somewhere for a few days where people can help you.”
I thought she meant my sister’s house.
Now I wasn’t sure.
“What hospital?”
Linda’s face changed.
I stared at her.
“You said I might need to go somewhere.”
“You were overwhelmed.”
“Where?”
“A clinic.”
“What clinic?”
She looked away.
Ethan stepped closer.
“What clinic, Mom?”
Linda stayed silent.
The officer asked, “Did you make arrangements to have Emily admitted somewhere?”
“No.”
Martin exhaled.
Everyone looked at him.
He looked terrified.
“I don’t know if this matters.”
Linda’s face went white.
“Martin.”
He ignored her.
“She asked me whether a temporary psychiatric hospitalization would activate the guardianship document.”
My blood ran cold.
Ethan’s face turned red.
“What?”
Martin backed toward the wall.
“I told her I didn’t know.”
Linda shouted, “He’s lying!”
The female officer raised her voice.
“Enough!”
Noah began crying.
I pressed him close.
Ethan looked at his mother like she was a stranger.
“You were trying to have Emily committed.”
“No.”
“Then why ask?”
“I was worried about postpartum depression.”
“You weren’t worried.”
“I was!”
“You were planning.”
Linda’s breathing became quick.
“I wanted everyone safe.”
“Safe from what?”
She stared at me.
Then tears filled her eyes.
“From what happens when a mother snaps.”
My mouth went dry.
“What are you talking about?”
She hesitated.
And then she said, “I already called someone.”
Ethan’s face changed.
“Who?”
Linda looked toward the front window.
At that exact moment, another vehicle pulled into our driveway.
Not a police car.
A white medical transport van.
May you like
Two people stepped out.
Linda whispered, “They’re here for Emily.”
