Chapter 12: The House That Was Never Supposed to Be Katie's
Dad looked as though someone had knocked the air out of him.
"Whose name?"" I asked.
Katie was crying too hard to answer immediately.
Then she whispered:
"Martin Hale.""
I stared at the phone.
The financial adviser.
The man who had helped Linda prepare the disputed account documents.
The man who had attempted to change the contact information.
And apparently, the person whose name was on the deed of a house partly funded by Dad's retirement savings.
Ben reached for the phone.
"Katie, stop crying and tell us exactly what happened.""
She took a shaky breath.
"Mom said she was helping me buy a house. She told me Dad had agreed to give me money from his retirement account.""
Dad shook his head.
"I never agreed to that.""
Katie began speaking faster.
"She said it was temporary. She said the house would be transferred into my name after some paperwork was completed.""
I interrupted.
"Did you sign anything?""
"Yes.""
"What?""
"A property agreement. Mom said it was standard.""
"Did you read it?""
Katie went silent.
Then she whispered, "Not all of it.""
Dad sat down heavily.
"Where is the house?""
"Oakridge Drive.""
I looked at Ben.
He knew the neighborhood.
It was a quiet residential area about twenty minutes from our home.
"How much was it?"" I asked.
"Four hundred and twenty thousand.""
Dad covered his face.
"And you let your mother use my money?""
Katie snapped.
"She told me it was hers to give!""
"Sixty thousand dollars was mine!""
"I didn't know!""
I felt anger rising again.
"Katie, you knew about Sienna's account. You knew the $38,000 was coming from her savings. You signed the restructuring papers.""
She started crying again.
"I thought it was inheritance money!""
"You knew it wasn't yours.""
"Mom said Sienna would never need it!""
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
The same excuse.
Again and again.
Sienna didn't need it.
Sienna was young.
Sienna had one parent with a good job.
Sienna could manage without it.
Apparently, everyone had decided that my daughter was the easiest person to take from.
Dad stood.
"I'm going to that house.""
Ben immediately stopped him.
"Not without speaking to a lawyer.""
"I want to see where my money went!""
"Robert, I understand. But don't do anything that could make this worse.""
Dad sank back into his chair.
For several seconds, he stared at the floor.
Then he looked at me.
"Nora, I trusted her with everything.""
I reached across the table.
"I'm sorry, Dad.""
He shook his head.
"No. I'm sorry. I should have questioned the money years ago.""
The next morning, Rachel called.
She had reviewed the company registration documents.
Bennett Family Property Holdings had been established eighteen months earlier.
Its registered manager was Martin Hale.
Its listed correspondence address was Linda and Robert's home.
And one of its financial contributors was an account connected to my grandmother's trust.
Rachel sounded serious.
"I've also located the property records for Katie's house.""
"What do they show?""
"Martin Hale is listed as the registered owner. Katie appears on a separate occupancy agreement.""
I sat down.
"So Katie doesn't legally own the house?""
"Not according to the records we've obtained.""
"Then why did Mom tell her she was buying it?""
"That's something we'll need to investigate.""
Rachel paused.
"There's another concern. The company appears to have received funds from several sources, including the account connected to your grandmother's estate.""
I felt sick.
"How much?""
"We're still tracing it.""
I stared at the wall.
"Is the trust money involved?""
"Potentially. That's why I'm requesting a complete accounting of the assets and transactions.""
After the call, I forwarded everything to Dad.
He responded with one sentence.
"I think your mother has been lying to both of us for years.""
That afternoon, Linda finally appeared at our house.
She didn't call first.
She simply stood on the porch holding a leather handbag.
I opened the door but didn't invite her inside.
"What do you want?""
She looked past me.
"Is Sienna home?""
"She's upstairs.""
"I brought her something.""
She held up a small gift bag.
I didn't take it.
"Why?""
Linda's expression tightened.
"Because she's my granddaughter.""
"Interesting. I thought you didn't have room for her at your birthday party.""
"Must you keep bringing that up?""
"Yes.""
She sighed.
"Nora, I made a mistake. Can we move past it?""
I stared at her.
"Which mistake?""
Her lips pressed together.
"The party.""
"What about the money?""
She looked away.
"That's complicated.""
"What about Grandma's inheritance?""
"Your grandmother's estate was handled years ago.""
"What about Dad's retirement account?""
Her eyes flashed.
"Robert has no idea how much I sacrificed for him.""
"What about Katie's house?""
Linda went completely still.
For the first time, I saw fear cross her face.
Then she lowered her voice.
"You need to stop talking to Rachel.""
"No.""
"She doesn't understand this family.""
"She understands bank statements and property records.""
Linda stepped closer.
"You have no idea what you're doing.""
I held the door firmly.
"I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm protecting my daughter.""
Linda's expression changed.
She looked past me toward the staircase.
Then she said something so quietly that I almost didn't hear it.
"Your grandmother made a terrible mistake leaving everything to you.""
I stared at her.
"Why?""
Linda's eyes filled with tears.
"Because if she'd left it to me, none of this would have happened.""
I felt my stomach drop.
"Did you move the trust money into Martin's company?""
She didn't answer.
"Mom, did you?""
Her silence was enough.
Then she reached into her handbag and pulled out a folded document.
"Before you destroy everything, read this.""
I took it cautiously.
It was a copy of a property transfer agreement.
The property was the commercial building Grandma Evelyn had placed in the trust.
The proposed new owner was Bennett Family Property Holdings.
And beneath the transfer date was a signature.
Thomas Reed's.
I looked up.
"Thomas approved this?""
Linda nodded.
"He finally understood that the property needed to be moved.""
But something was wrong.
Thomas had told Rachel that he had never approved the transfer.
I looked more closely at the document.
The date was six months earlier.
And beside Thomas's signature was a witness name.
Martin Hale.
I felt my blood run cold.
"Mom, this is fake.""
Linda's face hardened.
"Don't be stupid.""
I held the paper up.
"Thomas already told us he never approved the transfer.""
She reached for it.
I stepped back.
"Give me that!""
"No.""
Her voice rose.
"You have no idea what you've uncovered!""
I looked directly into her eyes.
"Then explain it.""
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
"Martin was supposed to fix everything before your grandmother's estate was reviewed.""
My phone vibrated.
A message from Rachel appeared.
"Urgent. We have just confirmed that the property transfer document you mentioned was never registered. However, someone submitted a second transfer request yesterday.""
I read the next sentence.
"The buyer is listed as Katie Bennett.""
I looked at my mother.
She was already backing away from the door.
And suddenly, I understood.
The birthday party hadn't been the end of her plan.
It had been the deadline.
She had expected the money to be moved, the property transferred, and everyone to keep believing the same old story.
But now the bank had stopped the money.
The trust was under investigation.
And the property transfer had been exposed.
Linda turned toward the driveway.
I called after her.
"Mom!""
She stopped.
"Where is Martin Hale?""
She slowly looked back at me.
Then she answered with a sentence I would never forget.
"He's not the person you should be worried about, Nora.""
She opened her car door.
"Your grandmother left another beneficiary in her original will. And if that document is found, you could lose everything.""
She drove away before I could ask what she meant.
I immediately called Rachel.
When I told her what Linda had said, she was silent for several seconds.
Then she asked:
"Nora, has anyone shown you the complete original will?""
"No.""
May you like
Rachel exhaled.
"Then we need to find it before your mother does.""
