Chapter 7 - The Third PersonSarah Had Never Been Alone in ThisWe stood frozen at the top of the stairs.
The footsteps below were slow.
Measured.
Not rushed.
A man's shoes.
David looked at me.
"Call the police."
I reached for my phone.
Then a voice rose from the foyer.
"Mrs. Holden?"
It was not Robert.
It was a woman.
Older.
Calm.
Professional.
I descended halfway.
A woman in a navy coat stood by the front door.
She held an identification badge.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Helen Shaw."
She raised the badge.
"Private investigator."
David whispered,
"What?"
Helen looked at me.
"I was hired by Arthur Holden four years ago."
My heart stopped.
"Arthur hired you?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Two weeks before he died."
I went downstairs.
David followed.
Helen placed a folder on the table.
"I have spent four years waiting for instructions to release this."
"From whom?"
"From you."
She pushed the folder toward me.
I opened it.
Photographs.
Bank records.
Property searches.
Names.
Robert Bell.
Sarah Bell.
And another name.
A man I had never heard of.
Gregory Voss.
"Who is he?"
Helen leaned back.
"Your daughter-in-law's former financial advisor."
David frowned.
"Former?"
"Sarah left his firm shortly before she met you."
I looked at David.
He shook his head.
"I didn't know."
Helen continued.
"Arthur believed someone might eventually target the house."
"Why?"
"He discovered irregularities involving Robert Bell's business."
She placed a photograph on the table.
Robert standing beside Gregory.
"Your husband believed they were moving money through shell companies."
My stomach dropped.
"How is that connected to me?"
Helen handed me another page.
"One of the companies was dissolved."
Then another.
"Another is still active."
I looked at the registered address.
It was my house.
I stared at the page.
"What?"
Helen nodded.
"Your property was listed as a mailing address for a company called Bell Capital Advisory."
David went white.
"That's impossible."
"It happened before you moved in."
I looked at the registration date.
Five months ago.
Before Sarah and David moved into my home.
"So they planned this."
"Yes."
"How long?"
Helen hesitated.
"At least six months."
David stood.
"I need to leave."
I looked at him.
"Where?"
"Anywhere."
"No."
He stopped.
"We are not running."
He stared at me.
"What do we do?"
I looked at Helen.
"Tell me everything."
She opened the folder.
The company had been used for suspicious transfers.
Someone had attempted to connect my house to the company's operations.
Not ownership.
Association.
Enough to create confusion.
Enough to make creditors, investigators, or lenders believe the property had some connection to the business.
And if that happened, the house could become entangled in a legal mess.
"Why would they do that?"
Helen looked at me.
"Because they needed leverage."
"Leverage for what?"
"The house."
She slid one final document toward me.
It was a private loan agreement.
The lender had provided $90,000.
Collateral listed:
Expected future interest in Holden property.
The borrower was Robert Bell.
My breath caught.
David looked horrified.
"He borrowed against Mom's house?"
"Not exactly," Helen said.
"He claimed he would acquire an interest."
I looked at the date.
The loan had been taken out a month before Sarah and David moved in.
I sat back.
Everything suddenly aligned.
The strange folder.
The spreadsheet.
The forged signature.
The cameras.
The household agreement.
Sarah had not invented this alone.
Someone had financed the plan.
I asked Helen the question I was almost afraid to hear.
"How much debt does Robert Bell have?"
She looked at the folder.
"More than three million dollars."
David whispered,
"Three million?"
Helen nodded.
"And he's running out of options."
That night, Sarah returned.
Alone.
She stood in the doorway.
Her eyes were swollen.
She looked exhausted.
"Priscilla."
I said nothing.
She walked into the kitchen.
"Can we talk?"
"No."
She looked surprised.
Then she looked at David.
"Please."
David shook his head.
"You lied to me."
Her face crumpled.
"I never meant for it to get this far."
"How far did you mean for it to get?"
She looked at me.
"I thought we'd stay."
"How long?"
She whispered,
"Long enough."
I stood.
"Long enough for what?"
She didn't answer.
I walked closer.
"Tell me."
She looked at the floor.
Then she finally said:
"Until the house wasn't yours anymore."
Silence.
David closed his eyes.
Sarah started crying.
Then the door opened behind her.
Robert stepped inside.
He smiled.
"Looks like we're finally having the family meeting."
I reached for the phone.
He held up a hand.
"Don't bother."
Then he placed a manila envelope on my table.
Inside was a court summons.
And at the bottom of the page, it said:
May you like
HEARING DATE: FRIDAY.
Two days away.
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