Chapter 11 - WHAT OWEN PROMISED MY SISTER|
I didn't respond to Brooke's message.
Instead, I forwarded it to Evelyn.
She advised me not to confront my sister until we had the original records. But I wanted to know what Owen had promised her.
I called Brooke.
She answered quickly.
“Thank God. I've been trying to reach you.”
“Why did you witness my signature on a loan agreement I never signed?”
Silence.
“Brooke?”
“I didn't know what the paperwork was.”
“You signed as a witness.”
“Owen said you had agreed.”
“You saw me sign?”
She began crying.
“Please don't do this.”
“Did you see me sign?”
“No.”
I closed my eyes.
“Then why did you lie?”
“He told me it was temporary. He said he would pay the loan back before anyone noticed.”
“Why was my name on it?”
“Because you had the trust.”
I felt something inside me break.
“Did you know he was using my money?”
She didn't answer.
“Did you know he was sleeping with me while sleeping with you?”
“It's not like that.”
“How is it?”
She began speaking quickly.
“Owen told me you two weren't happy. He said you were only staying together because of the baby. He said once Lily was born, he would leave.”
I looked toward the nursery.
“He told you that?”
“Yes.”
“And you believed him?”
“I loved him.”
The words landed with an ugliness I hadn't expected.
My sister had loved my husband.
My husband had used my money.
And both of them had watched me prepare for a baby they knew he planned to leave.
“Did you know about the loan before the wedding?”
“Yes.”
“Did Ethan?”
“I don't know.”
I almost laughed.
“You married a man without knowing what he was doing with his money?”
“He wanted to give me a good life.”
“So did I.”
Brooke went quiet.
Then she said, “Owen told me something else.”
“What?”
“He said if anything happened to the baby, you would be too devastated to challenge the financial documents.”
My blood ran cold.
I gripped the phone.
“What did you just say?”
“He said you wouldn't be able to focus on anything except grieving. He said we could settle the house arrangement afterward.”
I felt sick.
“Was he expecting Lily to die?”
“No! I don't mean that.”
“Then explain what you mean.”
“He said you would be vulnerable. He said you'd need family around you, and we could convince you to sign the property papers.”
I stared at the wall.
The demand to leave my house had not been spontaneous.
It had been planned.
I ended the call.
Evelyn listened to the recording I had made with Brooke's consent after I explained that I needed an accurate record of the conversation.
She sat quietly when it finished.
“This is serious.”
“I want the police involved.”
“We'll report the suspected fraud and provide the evidence.”
That evening, Owen appeared outside my house with a bouquet of flowers.
He looked exhausted.
“Can we talk?”
“No.”
“Please, Natalie.”
I didn't open the door.
He stepped closer to the window.
“I know Brooke told you things.”
“Did you plan to take my house?”
“No.”
“Did you plan to leave me after Lily was born?”
He looked away.
That was enough.
I locked the door.
May you like
Then he said something that made me freeze.
“You don't know what Brooke and Ethan were planning to do with that money.”
