Chapter 8 - The Second Mortgage
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“Westbridge?” Eleanor whispered, her voice barely audible.
Dad stepped forward, his eyes locked on Eleanor. “You know that name, don't you, Eleanor?”
“Mom, don't talk to him!” Julian yelled, stepping between his mother and my father. “This is a private family matter! Thomas, I am asking you to leave my house right now!”
“This is Audrey’s house,” Dad reminded him coolly. “And you are currently facing domestic battery and identity fraud charges. I suggest you choose your next words very carefully.”
Eleanor ignored Julian entirely, stepping around him to face my father.
“Tom,” Eleanor said, her hands trembling as she adjusted her pearl necklace. “Julian told me Westbridge was a new commercial real estate fund based in North Carolina. He said he needed seventy-five thousand dollars to secure a managing partnership.”
“And where did you get seventy-five thousand dollars, Eleanor?” Dad asked gently.
Eleanor lowered her gaze to the carpet. “I took out a second mortgage on my house last November.”
I gasped, looking at her in shock. “You mortgaged your home for him?”
“He told me it was a guaranteed return!” Eleanor said, her voice cracking as years of maternal pride began to shatter. “He said if I gave him the seventy-five thousand, he wouldn't need to touch Audrey’s assets. He swore to me that Audrey was offering her townhouse voluntarily to help pay off the loan balance early!”
I looked at Julian, disgusted. “You took seventy-five thousand from your mother, stole thirty-eight thousand from me under a fake credit line, and lied to both of us so we would blame each other!”
Julian backed away toward the front door, his posture shrinking as the web of deceit he had spun fell apart completely.
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“You don't understand how business works!” Julian spat out, his eyes darting frantically between the three of us. “It was an investment! Everyone takes risks!”
“Taking out fraudulent loans in your wife’s name isn't an investment, Julian,” Dad said sternly. “It’s a federal crime.”
