Chapter 16 - The Financial Ruin
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The magnitude of David's stupidity was breathtaking.
“You let Evan use my property as collateral for illegal loans?” I demanded, my voice rising to a shout.
“I didn't know he did it until it was too late!” David pleaded, tears finally spilling over his eyelashes. “The market turned. Material costs tripled. Beacon Point collapsed. Suddenly, these loan sharks are calling me, threatening Victoria, threatening the kids. They said if we didn't pay them back, they were going to put a lien on Harbor Point and force a foreclosure on your house.”
I gripped the counter. The pieces finally fit.
“So you panicked,” I said, disgusted. “You tried to declare me incompetent so you could gain legal guardianship. With guardianship, you could legally sell the estate, pay off the loan sharks to save your own skin, and hide the fact that you and Evan had committed massive fraud.”
David buried his face in his hands, sobbing openly. “I thought I was saving you! If they foreclosed, you would have been dragged through the mud. It would have ruined your military legacy. I thought if I took control, I could fix the money, sell the house quietly, and set you up in a nice condo. I was trying to protect the family.”
“You were trying to protect yourself from prison!” I slammed my hand on the marble, making the coffee cups jump. “You stole my money. You forged my signature. You locked me out of my own home in the freezing cold! Do not sit there and frame your cowardice as heroism!”
Before David could answer, the front door violently banged open.
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High heels clicked furiously against the hardwood floor. Victoria stormed into the kitchen, her face twisted in absolute rage, with Cameron Hayes trailing nervously behind her.
“I knew you would come crawling here to confess, you weak, pathetic loser!” Victoria screamed at David.
