Chapter 6 - The Debt Nobody Told Her About
Tasha stared at my phone.
"That's impossible."
I enlarged the photograph.
Her name appeared at the top.
Tasha Renee Carter.
Her date of birth.
Her address.
And a proposed loan amount of sixty thousand dollars.
The application appeared to have been submitted through an online lending portal.
Near the bottom was an electronic acknowledgment.
Tasha shook her head.
"I never applied for a loan."
I looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
She turned toward me.
"Maya, I don't even have a credit card."
Her voice began trembling.
"Why would I borrow sixty thousand dollars?"
I felt cold.
We went inside and showed Evelyn.
She immediately called attorney Brooks.
He told us not to assume the application had been approved.
He also explained that unauthorized use of someone's personal information could create serious problems even if no money had been disbursed.
He advised Tasha to obtain her credit reports and place appropriate fraud protections on her files.
I watched my sister listen.
She looked exhausted.
Every time we thought we understood the situation, another problem appeared.
First the car.
Then the missing trust money.
Then the suspicious signature.
Now a loan application.
It felt as though someone had built a trap around Tasha's entire future.
And she hadn't even known it existed.
The next morning, we met Daniel at his office.
Evelyn sat beside Tasha.
I sat on her other side.
Daniel had arranged for a financial records specialist to review the documents.
Her name was Patricia Lewis.
She was patient and direct.
"Let's begin with what we can verify," she said.
She laid out the bank statements.
"Several transfers were made from the trust account."
She pointed to the largest entries.
Thirty thousand dollars to Golden Nest Interiors.
Forty-nine thousand eight hundred dollars to the automobile dealership.
Smaller amounts had also been withdrawn over the previous year.
Some were marked as education expenses.
But there were no corresponding tuition payments in the records we had.
Tasha leaned forward.
"How much is missing?"
Patricia studied her notes.
"Based on the records currently available, more than eighty thousand dollars appears to have been used for purposes that need explanation."
Tasha stared at the table.
Eighty thousand dollars.
It was more money than she could imagine earning in several years.
Money her mother had carefully set aside.
Money that should have helped her build a future.
Instead, it had funded other people's choices.
I reached for her hand.
Patricia continued.
"The loan application is a separate matter. We haven't confirmed whether it resulted in an approved account."
Daniel nodded.
"We're contacting the lender through its fraud department."
Tasha swallowed.
"Could I owe money I never borrowed?"
"An application alone doesn't create a debt," Daniel explained. "If an account was opened without your authorization, we'll dispute it through the proper process."
I watched Tasha breathe slowly.
She was trying so hard to remain calm.
I remembered how embarrassed she had looked standing beside the Highlander.
How small her birthday envelope had seemed.
Now I understood that the envelope had held the beginning of something much larger.
It was proof that she had a right to ask questions.
And those questions were finally being answered.
After the meeting, Daniel asked to speak privately with Evelyn and Tasha.
I stepped into the hallway.
A few minutes later, my phone rang.
Marcus.
I almost ignored it.
But then I answered.
"Maya."
His voice sounded tired.
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere safe."
He sighed.
"Your mother tells me you've been meeting with lawyers."
"Yes."
"You're making a terrible mistake."
I felt anger rise.
"Why?"
"Because family problems shouldn't be handled by strangers."
I looked toward Daniel's office.
"Then why did you make Tasha's problems something she had to solve alone?"
Marcus was silent.
I continued.
"Did you apply for a loan using her name?"
He exhaled sharply.
"Don't believe everything your mother sends you."
"Answer the question."
"I was exploring options."
"Using her personal information?"
"Maya, you're a child."
I closed my eyes.
There it was again.
The moment I asked something he didn't want to answer, I became too young to understand.
But when he wanted me to accept a car, I was old enough to be grateful.
"Did Tasha authorize it?"
Marcus said nothing.
I felt tears gathering.
"You were supposed to protect her."
He spoke coldly.
"I've provided for that girl her entire life."
"She's your daughter."
"And I know my responsibilities."
"No," I whispered. "You knew how to remind her she owed you."
His voice hardened.
"If you keep choosing her side, don't expect me to keep paying for your privileges."
I looked down at my shoes.
For a moment, the threat hurt.
Then I realized how little power it had left.
"I don't want privileges bought with her future."
I ended the call.
My hands shook afterward.
But I didn't regret anything I had said.
When Tasha emerged from Daniel's office, she looked frightened but determined.
"We're requesting a full accounting," she told me.
I nodded.
"And?"
"Daniel says there may be legal ways to remove Dad as trustee if he misused the money."
I looked at her.
"That's good."
She wiped her eyes.
"It doesn't feel good."
I understood.
Taking legal action against a parent wasn't something anyone wanted.
Especially Tasha.
Despite everything, she still loved Marcus.
She still remembered him teaching her to ride a bicycle.
Taking her to the zoo.
Carrying her on his shoulders when she was little.
Those memories hadn't disappeared.
But they no longer excused what he had done.
That afternoon, we received news from Tasha's university.
The admissions office had reviewed her appeal.
They couldn't immediately guarantee her original place.
But they were willing to reconsider her enrollment if the missing deposit could be resolved promptly.
Evelyn began crying.
Tasha stared at the email.
"Does that mean I still have a chance?"
"Yes," I whispered.
She covered her mouth.
For the first time in days, I saw hope in her eyes.
Evelyn offered to cover the deposit from her savings.
Tasha hesitated.
"Grandma, I don't want you spending your retirement money."
Evelyn smiled sadly.
"Eight hundred dollars won't destroy my retirement, sweetheart."
"But..."
"Your mother wanted you to have opportunities. So do I."
Tasha hugged her.
I watched them, crying quietly.
That evening, my mother called again.
This time, she sounded different.
"There's something you need to know," she said.
I sat up.
"What?"
"Marcus is planning to sell the Highlander."
I frowned.
"Good."
"No, Maya."
Her voice shook.
"He isn't planning to return the money to Tasha."
My stomach tightened.
"Then what is he doing?"
May you like
Nia whispered:
"He's trying to use the sale proceeds to leave the state."
