PART7

“Audrey, please don’t make this difficult. We’re trying to take some responsibility.”

I slowly pulled out a chair.

“All right. Let’s talk about responsibility.”

I placed Martin’s loan agreement on the table.

Colin’s expression changed immediately.

“What’s that?”

“Your father lent you $85,000 for your house. You still owe $71,400.”

He looked uncomfortable.

“Mom, we’ve already discussed this.”

“Yes. And you told me your father never treated it like a debt.”

“He understood our situation.”

“He understood that you borrowed money. He also expected you to repay it.”

Kara folded her arms.

“That was years ago. Surely you’re not going to start demanding money from your own son now.”

I turned toward her.

“That’s between Colin and me.”

She looked offended.

“Well, I’m his wife.”

“And I’m his mother.”

The room became silent.

I took out the copy of the authorization bearing my forged signature.

Then I placed it between them.

“Can either of you explain this?”

Colin went pale.

Kara looked at the document and quickly glanced away.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“An authorization to transfer $120,000 from an investment account using my name.”

Colin swallowed.

“Where did you get that?”

“Your father left it for me.”

Kara leaned forward.

“Martin was confused toward the end. You know that. He was taking medication.”

I looked directly at her.

“Don’t.”

She stopped.

“Don’t use my husband’s illness to explain something you haven’t even tried to explain.”

Colin rubbed his forehead.

“Mom, this is getting out of hand.”

“No, Colin. It has been out of hand for a long time. I simply didn’t know it.”

I placed the email exchange on the table.

“Your father found messages suggesting that you knew about this transfer.”

Colin stared at the papers.

For the first time since they arrived, he had nothing to say.

I waited.

Then he finally spoke.

“Mom, it wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”

My heart sank.

“What does that mean?”

Kara immediately turned toward him.

“Colin, don’t.”

But he continued.

“Kara’s parents were in trouble. Their business had debts. They needed money temporarily. We thought Dad could help.”

“By using my name?”

“We were going to explain everything.”

“When?”

“After things were settled.”

I felt my eyes fill.

“You were going to explain after taking $120,000?”

Colin looked down.

Kara stood up.

“This is ridiculous. Your husband had plenty of money. It’s not as if we were taking everything.”

I stared at her.

“That money was not yours.”

She laughed bitterly.

“And now you want to punish your own son because he made one mistake?”

“One mistake?”

I pointed to the loan agreement.

“Seventy-one thousand dollars still unpaid.”

Then to the forged authorization.

“One hundred and twenty thousand dollars someone attempted to take using my name.”

Then I looked at the Christmas photograph on my phone.

“And one Christmas dinner where my only child couldn’t even pick up the telephone to tell his mother he wasn’t coming.”

Colin looked away.

I continued.

“I spent two days cooking for you. I wore the dress your father loved. I waited until four o’clock. And you couldn’t even call.”

“Mom, I—”

“No. You will listen this time.”

My voice was trembling, but I didn’t stop.

“I spent years telling myself you were busy. I made excuses when you forgot my birthday. I made excuses when you borrowed money. I made excuses when you stopped visiting after your father died.”

I wiped my tears.

“And I made excuses because I thought being a good mother meant never making you feel uncomfortable.”

I looked at him.

“But your father was right. I was making sure nobody had to deal with the consequences of hurting me.”

Colin’s eyes became wet.

For a moment, I thought he might apologize.

Instead, Kara picked up the folder.

“We’re leaving.”

“That’s fine.”

She turned toward me.

“But don’t expect us to keep coming around if you’re going to treat us like criminals.”

I looked at her quietly.

“I didn’t create this situation, Kara.”

She grabbed Colin’s arm.

“Come on.”

Colin hesitated.

“Mom, we can talk about this later.”

I nodded.

“We can. But not until you’re ready to tell the truth.”

They left.

I watched their car disappear down the driveway.

Then I sat at the dining table and cried.

Not because I regretted what I’d said.

But because I had finally said what I should have said years ago.

The next morning, Daniel called.

“Audrey, I’ve reviewed the documents and spoken with the bank. There is an important development.”

I gripped the telephone.

“What happened?”

“The bank has confirmed that the attempted $120,000 transfer was never completed. Martin’s objection prevented it from proceeding.”

I closed my eyes.

“Thank goodness.”

“However, we have also discovered that the financial institution received additional inquiries after Martin’s death.”

My heart began beating faster.

“From whom?”

“Someone claiming to be authorized to act on behalf of your family.”

“Was it Colin?”

“We are still confirming the identity of the person who made those inquiries. But I recommend that we immediately update your account security and formally notify the relevant institutions that you have not authorized anyone to act for you.”

“Please do whatever is necessary.”

Daniel agreed.

He also explained that the family trust would remain under independent administration according to its legal terms. I would retain my rights as its primary beneficiary, and Colin would receive nothing automatically.

For the first time in months, I felt that someone was helping me protect myself rather than asking me to protect everyone else.

Over the following weeks, Daniel and the bank completed their review.

The unauthorized requests were documented.

The relevant records were preserved.

And I made one decision that Martin would have supported.

I would no longer discuss family finances informally.

Everything would be documented.

Every loan.

Every agreement.

Every authorization.

No exceptions.

Three weeks later, Colin came to see me alone.

It was a Sunday afternoon.

I was sitting in the kitchen reading when I heard the doorbell.

When I opened the door, he was standing there holding a small paper bag.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hello, Colin.”

He looked different.

His hair was untidy, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.

“Can I come in?”

I stepped aside.

He placed the bag on the kitchen counter.

“I brought pecan pie.”

I looked at it.

For a moment, I remembered the Christmas pie I had made.

The one nobody had eaten.

“Thank you.”

We sat at the kitchen table.

For several minutes, neither of us spoke.

Then Colin finally said something I hadn’t expected.

“Mom, I’m sorry.”

I looked at him.

He lowered his head.

“I’m sorry about Christmas. I’m sorry about the money. And I’m sorry about what happened with Dad.”

I waited.

He took a deep breath.

“Kara and I were having financial problems. Her parents had borrowed money for their business, and things were getting worse. She convinced me that Dad could help us temporarily.”

“Did your father know?”

“He knew we were having problems. He didn’t know everything.”

“And the $120,000?”

Colin rubbed his hands together.

“I knew about the transfer request. I thought Kara had arranged everything with Dad. She told me he had agreed.”

“Did you know the authorization had my signature?”

He didn’t answer.

That silence told me more than his words.

Finally, he whispered, “I suspected something wasn’t right.”

I felt my heart break a little more.

“Then why didn’t you stop it?”

CONTINUE FOR FINAL PART…