Chapter 10 - The Debt Behind the Mask
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An hour after Julian fled the hospital, Sarah Vance arrived with a thick stack of financial documents.
She sat beside me, her expression grim.
“We found out why Julian was so desperate for your house, Elena,” Sarah said, placing a spreadsheet on my lap.
I looked at the numbers. Column after column showed massive negative balances, overdue notices, and legal demands.
“Julian didn't just want an investment,” Sarah explained. “He was drowning. Two years ago, he secretly partnered with a fraudulent real estate developer named Aaron Pike. They took out high-interest private loans to buy land in the city, but the project went bankrupt.”
I gasped. “How much does he owe?”
“Over four hundred thousand dollars,” Sarah revealed. “The loan sharks were threatening to repossess his car and sue his family. His mother, Evelyn, co-signed one of those loans. If Julian defaulted, Evelyn stood to lose her own savings.”
The pieces of the puzzle suddenly fell into place with terrifying clarity.
“That’s why they needed Hawthorne Lane,” I realized, my blood running cold. “My father’s house is completely paid off. It’s worth at least six hundred thousand dollars in today’s market. They wanted to use my inheritance to pay off their illegal debts!”
“Precisely,” Sarah nodded. “They didn't just see you as a wife, Elena. They saw you as a financial life raft. And when you refused to let them destroy your father's legacy, they decided to get rid of you.”
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I leaned back against the pillows, feeling a strange mixture of relief and fury. The truth was out. The monster had been unmasked.
“They’re never getting that house, Sarah,” I said, my voice steady as stone. “Not a single brick.”
