Chapter 7: The Debt My Dead Brother Left Behind
“Tell me exactly what you mean,” Naomi said.
On the other end of the phone, Marcus exhaled sharply.
“I can't explain everything over the phone.””
“You have been saying that for eleven days. I'm finished accepting it.””
“Naomi, please. This involves people who don't forgive easily.””
She looked toward the living room, where her sons slept beneath a blanket Denise had spread over them. The television played silently, casting moving colors across the walls.
“Did you use my father's property to pay someone else's debt?””
Marcus didn't answer.
“Did you forge my signature?””
“I was going to replace the money.””
“With what?””
“From the sale.””
“The sale of property that wasn't yours to sell?””
“Naomi, you don't understand the arrangement.””
“Then explain the arrangement.””
He lowered his voice.
“Daniel borrowed money before he died. A lot of it. He used the family property as collateral, but the paperwork was never properly completed. When the people who held the debt came looking for their money, they threatened to take everything.””
Naomi felt her stomach tighten.
Her brother Daniel had died in a car accident five years earlier. He had been thirty-two, funny, impulsive, and perpetually convinced that his next business idea would make him rich.
He had also been the person who sat beside Naomi in the hospital when their father was dying.
Daniel had promised her he would never put their father's legacy at risk.
She had believed him.
“How much did he borrow?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Just over two million dollars.””
Naomi gripped the phone.
“Two million?””
“It wasn't all his debt. There were business partners involved.””
“Who?””
“I don't know everyone.””
“That's convenient.””
“I'm telling you the truth.””
“No. You're telling me another piece of a story that changes every time I ask a question.””
Marcus sighed.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“You threw me and our children out of our house.””
“I needed you away from the property while I handled the transfer.””
Naomi went still.
“What did you just say?””
Marcus realized his mistake.
“That's not what I meant.””
“You needed me away from the property?””
“I meant away from the situation.””
“You packed our clothes. You canceled our credit card. You stopped answering your children's calls.””
“I was under pressure.””
“And you thought declaring me dead would solve your problem?””
He didn't answer.
Naomi's voice dropped.
“Did you believe I would never find out?””
“I thought I could fix it before anyone got hurt.””
“You have already hurt us.””
A small sound came from behind her.
Naomi turned.
Denise stood in the hallway, her arms folded across her chest. She had heard enough to understand that the situation was more dangerous than either of them had imagined.
Naomi ended the call.
Marcus immediately called back.
She declined it.
A message appeared seconds later.
Please don't go to the police until we talk.
Then another.
You don't know who Daniel was dealing with.
Naomi stared at the screen.
That sentence frightened her more than the admission about the money.
Denise sat beside her.
“What did he say?””
Naomi explained the debt.
Denise's face hardened.
“Daniel died five years ago. How could a debt from his business still be connected to your property?””
“Apparently, Marcus knew about it.””
“Did you?””
“No.””
Denise reached for Naomi's hand.
“Then we need to find out what your husband did, not what he claims he did.””
The next morning, Naomi met Evelyn Brooks at the accountant's office.
Evelyn had worked with Naomi's father for nearly twenty years. She was a careful woman who kept paper records even when everyone else insisted digital copies were enough.
She had arranged the documents across a conference table before Naomi arrived.
“Sit down,” Evelyn said.
“There's something you need to see.””
Naomi took the chair nearest the door.
Evelyn opened a thick folder.
“Your father's property was never legally pledged as collateral for Daniel's business loan. I checked the original estate records.””
“Then how could Marcus transfer my share?””
“He submitted a document claiming that you had died and that he was authorized to act on your behalf as your surviving spouse.””
Naomi stared at the papers.
“Did anyone verify the death?””
“Someone appears to have accepted the certification at face value. But I haven't been able to confirm who reviewed it.””
“Can the transfer be reversed?””
“It can be challenged. Whether the filing can be invalidated quickly depends on the records and the parties involved.””
Evelyn slid another page across the table.
“This is where it gets worse.””
The document showed a payment request for $2.15 million.
The recipient was an investment company called *Redwood Meridian Capital*.
Naomi had never heard of it.
“Who owns this company?””
“The public filing lists a registered agent, but the beneficial ownership isn't clear from the records I've obtained.””
“And Marcus?””
“He appears as an authorized signatory on the transfer instructions.””
Naomi read the page twice.
Her husband had used a false declaration of her death to move her inheritance into a company she didn't recognize.
She pressed her fingertips against the table.
“Why would he do this for Daniel?””
Evelyn looked at her carefully.
“That is the question we need to answer.””
Naomi pulled out her phone and showed Evelyn the photograph Brielle had taken of the supposed death certificate.
Evelyn examined it closely.
“This needs to be independently verified. I can't authenticate a document from a photograph, but the reference number is unusual.””
“Can you check it?””
“I can ask the relevant office to confirm whether it corresponds to an actual record. Don't assume the document is genuine.””
Naomi nodded.
She was beginning to understand that every paper she found created two more questions.
Before she left, Evelyn gave her a copy of the original property deed and a written summary of the suspicious transactions.
“Keep these somewhere safe,” Evelyn said.
“And contact an independent attorney today.””
“I will.””
Evelyn hesitated.
“One more thing. Your husband isn't the only person who has been asking about these records.””
Naomi stopped at the door.
“Who else?””
“A man called yesterday. He asked whether the property transfer had been completed and whether the surviving spouse had received the proceeds.””
“Did he give his name?””
“Victor Reed.””
Naomi searched her memory.
The name meant nothing to her.
But Evelyn's expression suggested it meant something to someone else.
“Do you know him?””
“No. But he knew the exact amount of the transfer before I mentioned it.””
Naomi left the office with her documents held tightly against her chest.
She had barely reached the parking lot when her phone rang.
Brielle.
“Naomi, I found something.””
“What?””
“Marcus left his tablet at my mother's house. He had been using it to prepare for the wedding. I opened it because I thought there might be copies of the documents.””
Naomi's pulse quickened.
“Brielle, you shouldn't access anything you're not authorized to access. Don't alter or delete anything. If you've already found something, preserve what you have and speak to your attorney.””
“I know. I stopped when I saw the folder.””
“What folder?””
“It was labeled *DANIEL HAYES—SETTLEMENT*.””
Naomi froze.
“Daniel Hayes?””
“Yes. There's a scanned agreement with your brother's name on it. And a photograph.””
“What photograph?””
Brielle took a breath.
“It's Marcus standing with another man outside a building. The date on the file is from two days before Daniel died.””
Naomi's hand tightened around her phone.
“Can you send me the image?””
“I've sent it to my attorney first. I don't want to compromise anything.””
“Good.””
A moment later, a message arrived from Brielle's attorney with a copy of the photograph and a note confirming that the file had been preserved.
Naomi opened the image.
Marcus stood beside a black sedan, wearing a dark jacket. The man next to him was older, broad-shouldered, and dressed in an expensive gray suit.
Naomi zoomed in on the man's face.
She recognized him.
She had seen him once at her father's funeral, standing near the back of the church. He had introduced himself as a business associate of Daniel's and offered condolences before disappearing.
She had never learned his name.
Brielle's voice came through the phone again.
“Naomi, there's a note attached to the file.””
“What does it say?””
“I'm reading it now.””
Paper rustled on the other end.
Then Brielle spoke in a whisper.
“'If Daniel's sister discovers the agreement, the entire settlement becomes invalid.''”
Naomi stopped walking.
Her brother's debt.
The property transfer.
The false death certificate.
They were connected by something more deliberate than Marcus's desperate attempt to save a business deal.
And someone had written down exactly what would happen if Naomi learned the truth.
Before she could respond, another message appeared on her phone.
It came from an unknown number.
*STOP INVESTIGATING YOUR BROTHER'S DEATH. THE NEXT DOCUMENT WON'T BE ABOUT PROPERTY.*
Naomi looked up at the bright morning sky.
For five years, she had believed Daniel's death was a terrible accident.
May you like
Now someone was warning her to stop asking questions.
And for the first time, she wondered whether the debt Marcus had tried to settle was only the beginning of what her brother had left behind.
