Chapter 5 - The Debt That Never Existed|
I spent the next hour trying to convince myself that the photograph was fake.
It had to be.
My mother had died in a hospital room overlooking a parking garage. I had held her hand while she struggled to breathe. I had listened to the monitor slow until the nurses came running.
I had chosen the flowers for her funeral.
I had signed the paperwork.
How could she be alive?
Dante arranged for a physician to examine Evelyn, then ordered the mansion's security team to investigate the photograph.
I demanded to go with them.
He refused.
"You could be walking into a trap."
"I've been walking into traps since I was old enough to work."
"Clara—"
"No. You don't get to turn me into a prisoner because someone discovered I'm useful to your family."
His jaw tightened.
For a moment, I thought he would order the guards to keep me in the study.
Instead, he stepped aside.
"Then we go together."
It was the first time anyone in the mansion had treated my decision as something that mattered.
Before we could leave, my phone rang.
The number belonged to the debt collection office that had controlled my wages for two years.
I answered on speaker.
"Miss Bennett," a man said pleasantly. "We've received word that you're involved in an unfortunate situation at the Moretti residence."
My stomach tightened.
"What do you want?"
"The outstanding balance on your father's account is now due in full."
I laughed once, without humor.
"You've taken nearly every paycheck I've earned."
"Interest accumulates."
"Then show me the original contract."
A pause followed.
The man changed his tone.
"You should be careful, Miss Bennett. Your father was not a good man. He made promises he couldn't keep."
"Send me the contract."
"Come to our office tomorrow, and we can discuss—"
"Send it today."
I ended the call.
Dante watched me.
"How much do you owe?"
"According to them? Eighty-seven thousand dollars."
"Did your father borrow that much?"
"He borrowed money. I never saw the original amount."
"Why did you accept responsibility?"
"Because they threatened to take my mother's apartment. Because I had nowhere else to go. Because every time I asked for proof, they told me the interest had increased."
Dante's expression darkened.
"Who owns the collection company?"
"I don't know."
He made a call.
Within minutes, his legal director arrived with a laptop. She was a sharp-eyed woman named Rebecca Cole who appeared unimpressed by the armed guards surrounding the study.
"Give me the company name," she said.
I did.
Rebecca searched public records, corporate filings, and bank transactions.
Ten minutes later, she turned the laptop toward us.
"The collection company is a shell corporation. It was registered through a law firm that handles several Moretti family businesses."
Dante went still.
"Which businesses?"
Rebecca pointed to the screen.
"Three shipping subsidiaries and a private security contractor. The contractor's majority owner is Adrian Moretti's former estate manager."
"That doesn't prove the debt is fraudulent," Dante said.
"No," Rebecca agreed. "But it means we should examine the original documents."
She opened another file.
The alleged debt had been transferred between four companies. The principal balance had doubled, then tripled, even though I had made regular payments.
At the bottom of the final statement was a signature.
My father's.
I stared at it.
It looked wrong.
"My father was left-handed."
Rebecca enlarged the document.
"The signature was written with a right-handed slant."
A chill moved through me.
"Someone forged it."
"Possibly," Rebecca said. "We need the original contract and independent handwriting analysis."
Dante leaned over the table.
"Freeze every payment until the debt is verified. Preserve the records. Nobody threatens her again."
I looked at him.
"You can't just erase a debt because you want to protect me."
"I'm not erasing anything. I'm making sure no one profits from a lie."
For the first time, I wondered whether his power could be used for something other than control.
Then Rebecca received a message.
Her face changed.
"What is it?" Dante asked.
She turned the laptop around.
The collection company had filed a legal notice that morning.
The document claimed that Clara Bennett had voluntarily agreed to transfer all future earnings to satisfy her father's obligations.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
May you like
I had never signed it.
And the witness listed beside my name was Evelyn Shaw.
