Chapter 12 - The Seven PropertiesThe seven properties were worth more than $6 million.
I learned that the next morning.
But the money wasn't the shocking part.
The shocking part was who had been collecting the income.
Sophia had requested the property management records.
There had been rental income every month for years.
Apartment units.
Commercial leases.
Storage facilities.
Farm property.
The total monthly income was approximately $34,000.
Thirty-four thousand dollars.
Every month.
And none of it had ever reached me.
Instead, it had gone into a network of accounts controlled by companies connected to my father and Eric.
I stared at the spreadsheets.
"They've been stealing from me."
Sophia nodded.
"Potentially."
"How much?"
"Conservatively, over $1.4 million."
I sat very still.
My family hadn't merely used my identity.
They had used my wealth.
We traced the transfers.
Some money went to pay Dad's debts.
Some paid Eric's loans.
Some went to Derek's company.
Some went to personal expenses.
Luxury cars.
Credit card bills.
Private school tuition.
Vacations.
My brother had even used trust funds to finance a restaurant he later told everyone was "his own success."
I felt disgusted.
Then I found a payment to Lauren.
$18,500.
Another to Derek.
$27,000.
Another to Eric.
$61,000.
I looked up.
"They all knew."
Sophia didn't answer.
A new document appeared on her screen.
It was an email chain.
Derek had written to Eric:
Rachel will never notice. She trusts Mom too much.
I read it twice.
Then another email.
Keep her paying the mortgage. If she starts asking questions, Mom will handle it.
My throat tightened.
This had been planned.
Not a mistake.
Not desperation.
A system.
Then came the worst email.
From my mother.
As long as Rachel believes she is helping us, she will never look at the trust.
I closed my eyes.
Sophia watched me carefully.
"Do you want to stop?"
"No."
She nodded.
"Then we're going deeper."
By the end of the day, we had frozen multiple accounts.
We filed notices against the properties.
We challenged the fraudulent bankruptcy.
We notified the insurance company.
We contacted the lenders.
For the first time in years, my money stopped flowing into my family's hands.
Then my phone rang.
Mom.
I didn't answer.
She called again.
Then a third time.
Finally, a voicemail appeared.
Her voice was shaking.
"Rachel, please call me."
I listened.
"I know what you've found."
A pause.
"There's something I never told you."
Another pause.
"And if you don't hear it from me, you'll hear it from someone else."
Her voice broke.
"Your father didn't just borrow money from Uncle Mark."
"He made a deal with him."
I sat up.
"What deal?"
May you like
Mom whispered:
"Your life."
