I took pictures of everything.
Then I called my attorney.
She answered despite the hour.
“Jennifer?”
“I need help.”
“What’s happened?”
I explained everything.
When I finished, she was quiet.
Then she said:
“Don’t sign anything.”
“I won’t.”
“Don’t let anyone inside the house.”
“I won’t.”
“Keep your daughter with you.”
“She’s asleep.”
“Good.”
Then she asked:
“Do you still have your grandmother’s estate documents?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent.”
I looked at the kitchen.
The cabinets Lorraine had chosen.
The countertops.
Not like something she had given me.
Like evidence.
My attorney continued:
“And Jennifer?”
“Yes?”
“Check whether any documents were filed against the property.”
“Where?”
“County recorder.”
I opened my laptop.
She gave me instructions.
I searched the property record.
A document appeared.
My heart stopped.
Notice of Claim.
Filed two days earlier.
Claimant:
Lorraine Hale.
Amount:
$48,600.
I stared at the screen.
Forty-eight thousand six hundred dollars.
“She filed a claim against my house.”
“Yes,” my attorney said.
“Can she take it?”
“Not simply because she filed a claim.”
I breathed again.
“But why $48,600?”
My attorney paused.
“That’s something you’ll need to investigate.”
I looked at the renovation plans.
Then I realized something.
The kitchen renovation was only $17,000.
So where had the other $31,600 come from?
I searched the county records again.
Another document appeared.
My stomach dropped.
It was a separate claim.
This one was for $31,600.
The claimant wasn’t Lorraine.
It was a company.
Rose Family Holdings LLC.
I stared at the name.
Rose.
The same name Lorraine had written on my ultrasound.
The same name Mark said belonged to his grandmother.
I turned toward him.
“Mark.”
He came upstairs.
“What?”
“Who owns Rose Family Holdings?”
His face went blank.
“I don’t know.”
“You do.”
“No.”
I turned the laptop toward him.
He read the name.
His mouth opened.
Then closed.
“Mom.”
“Yes.”
He sat down.
“Mom started a company years ago.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know it existed?”
“Yes.”
“What’s it for?”
“I thought it was for her investments.”
I looked at the document.
“Your mother is claiming $31,600 against my house through a company named after her mother.”
He shook his head.
“That can’t be right.”
I looked at him.
“Did you ever sign anything for that company?”
He didn’t answer.
“Mark.”
“Maybe.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t remember.”
I stood.
“Then we are going through every document you’ve ever signed.”
He nodded.
For the next two hours, we searched.
Bank statements.
Emails.
Scanned documents.
Old messages.
And finally, we found it.
