Chapter 13 - The Five-Thousand-Dollar Lie
Marcus walked outside before Tasha could stop him.
She followed immediately.
“Marcus.”
He kept walking toward Lorraine’s car.
“Marcus.”
Lorraine lowered the window.
“You need something?”
Marcus held up the notice.
“You put this in somebody else’s mailbox?”
“I delivered notice.”
“You scared three children.”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“Everything is always somebody else misunderstanding your intention.”
Lorraine’s eyes moved toward Tasha.
“Control your friend.”
Tasha almost laughed.
“You still think that works.”
Marcus leaned toward the window.
“Give me my five thousand dollars back.”
Lorraine’s expression did not move.
“We had an agreement.”
“You represented yourself as lawful owner.”
“I am lawful owner.”
“Then why are there two deeds?”
“Ask your lawyer.”
“I did.”
Lorraine’s eyes narrowed.
Marcus continued.
“You also said my deposit was going toward closing costs.”
“It was.”
“Show me.”
Lorraine looked at Tasha.
“Do you see how he speaks to people?”
Tasha crossed her arms.
“Show him.”
For the first time, Lorraine looked uncertain.
“Financial transactions take time to document.”
Marcus smiled without humor.
“It took Alicia twenty minutes.”
Lorraine’s face changed.
Tasha stared at him.
“What did she find?”
Marcus had received the call while Tasha was reading the eviction notice.
He had not told her yet.
“My five thousand never went into escrow.”
Lorraine said nothing.
“It never went to an attorney.”
Silence.
Marcus stepped closer.
“It went into your checking account.”
Tasha looked at Lorraine.
“What did you spend it on?”
Lorraine’s expression hardened.
“My personal finances are not your concern.”
“You took money connected to the sale of my grandmother’s house.”
“No sale was completed.”
“Then refund it.”
“I incurred expenses.”
Marcus pulled out his phone.
“County records show no filing fees. You hired no title company. There was no appraisal.”
Lorraine’s lips tightened.
Tasha asked again.
“What did you spend it on?”
Lorraine started the engine.
Marcus put one hand on the roof.
Not threatening.
Just stopping himself from doing something foolish.
“Tasha, move.”
Lorraine’s voice sharpened.
“Get your hand off my vehicle.”
Marcus did.
Lorraine drove away.
They watched her turn the corner.
Tasha looked at Marcus.
“What did she spend it on?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Yes, you do.”
Marcus sighed.
“Alicia found a card statement in the materials Lorraine sent during the proposed sale.”
“Why would she send a card statement?”
“To show expenses.”
“And?”
“She forgot one transaction lined up with my deposit.”
Tasha waited.
“Crown and Finch Jewelers.”
“How much?”
“Forty-eight hundred.”
Tasha stared.
“Two days after you paid her?”
“Same day.”
The gold bracelet Lorraine had shown Tasha flashed in her mind.
“No.”
“What?”
“She brought Grandma’s bracelet.”
Marcus frowned.
“She said Grandma gave it to her.”
“What if it wasn’t Grandma’s?”
“Then why show it to me?”
“To prove she still had something you thought was gone.”
Tasha thought about it.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“She wanted me to feel powerless.”
Marcus’s phone rang.
Alicia.
He answered.
Her first words were, “Do not confront Lorraine again without telling me.”
Marcus winced.
Tasha said, “Too late.”
“I assumed.”
Alicia sounded unimpressed.
“What happened?”
They told her.
Alicia paused.
“The jewelry purchase matters only if it helps establish where the deposit went. It does not by itself prove anything about title fraud.”
Tasha appreciated the correction.
Every suspicious thing could not become evidence simply because they were angry.
“What about the eviction notice?”
“We’ll respond in writing.”
“Can she actually evict me?”
“If she is recognized as record owner, she can attempt lawful eviction. But filing a title action could change the posture significantly.”
“Could?”
“Tasha, I will not promise outcomes.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
Alicia continued.
“We received certified records from the rehabilitation center.”
Tasha’s breath caught.
“And?”
“On the day the deed was supposedly signed, Lillian Brooks attended speech therapy from 11:05 until 11:52.”
Marcus looked at Tasha.
“The deed says eleven-thirty.”
“Yes.”
Alicia added, “The therapist documented continuous attendance.”
Tasha gripped the phone.
“That means she couldn’t have been signing in front of Curtis at eleven-thirty.”
“It strongly conflicts with the notarial certificate.”
Marcus whispered, “That’s fraud.”
“Potentially,” Alicia corrected.
“There’s more.”
Tasha closed her eyes.
“Tell me.”
“Visitor logs show Lorraine arrived at 1:41 p.m.”
Tasha opened her eyes.
“What about Curtis?”
“No Curtis Vale signed in that day.”
“Could staff forget?”
“Possible.”
“Could he have entered with Lorraine?”
“Possible.”
“But Lorraine wasn’t there at eleven-thirty.”
“According to the log, correct.”
Tasha felt a strange calm.
A fact.
Finally.
A hard fact.
Then Alicia said, “I also obtained a copy of Curtis Vale’s notary bond file.”
Marcus frowned.
“What did that show?”
“His commission had expired.”
“We knew that.”
“Yes.”
“But the stamp impression on your grandmother’s deed matches an older notarization from two years earlier almost perfectly.”
Tasha did not understand.
“So?”
“So perfectly that our document examiner suspects the stamp image may have been reproduced from another document.”
Marcus stared.
“Copied?”
“Possibly.”
“Like scanned?”
“Possibly.”
Tasha’s stomach turned.
Alicia continued.
“We need the original deed if it still exists.”
“Where would it be?”
“Lorraine may have it.”
Tasha looked toward the street where her mother had disappeared.
“She’ll destroy it.”
“Do not assume that.”
“She knows we’re looking.”
“That is why we’re moving quickly.”
“When?”
“I’m preparing a complaint.”
Tasha swallowed.
“You mean court.”
“Yes.”
“What exactly are we asking for?”
“To determine ownership, set aside the disputed deed if the evidence supports it, and stop any transfer of the property while the case is pending.”
Marcus looked at Tasha.
The fight was becoming real.
Then Alicia added one more thing.
“Marcus, I need you to prepare for a separate problem.”
“What?”
“If Lorraine took your five thousand under false pretenses, you may have a claim.”
Marcus nodded.
“But her defense may be that you knowingly participated in a private transaction designed to acquire the home without Tasha’s knowledge.”
Marcus went still.
Tasha looked at him.
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
For once, he could not hide behind good intentions.
His own secret was about to become part of the record too.
