Chapter 5: The Woman on the Phone
For several seconds, neither David nor Jessica moved.
The phone lay between them, its screen glowing against the dark fabric of the sofa.
David pointed at it.
“Pick it up.””
Jessica stared at him.
“David, please.””
“Pick up your phone.””
She reached for it with shaking fingers and turned the screen facedown.
“Who is Claire?”” he asked.
“You know who Claire is. She's my friend.””
“I know that. I want to know why she says you need to tell me about the money before she does.””
Jessica's eyes filled with tears.
“She shouldn't have sent that.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“She was angry.””
“About what?””
Jessica pressed her hands against her cheeks.
“I don't know how to explain this.””
“Try starting with the truth.””
She looked at him, and for the first time since he had come home, she appeared less angry than frightened.
“Claire introduced me to someone who said he could help me consolidate my debts.””
David frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“He said he could arrange a private loan with better terms than the bank. I was struggling to make my payments, and I thought I could get everything under control before you noticed.””
“How much did you borrow?””
“Thirty-eight thousand dollars in total.””
“You already told me that. Did you borrow more?””
Jessica looked down.
“Not exactly.””
David waited.
“I gave him some information about my finances. He said he needed details about our household income and any property that might be used as security.””
David's expression hardened.
“Our household income?””
“Yes.””
“And my mother's property?””
“He asked whether anyone in the family owned property outright.””
“Why did you tell him about Mom's house?””
Jessica shook her head desperately.
“I didn't give him her documents! I just told him she owned a house.””
“You gave a stranger information about a seventy-eight-year-old woman's property?””
“I didn't think he would do anything with it!””
David took a slow breath.
“Did you give him her date of birth?””
Jessica said nothing.
“Jessica.””
“Yes.””
“Her bank details?””
“No! I didn't know her account number.””
“Did you give him her address?””
Jessica closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
David walked to the window.
Outside, the streetlights had come on, casting pale yellow circles across the pavement.
He had spent the past five years believing that whatever problems he and Jessica faced, they would face them together.
Now he was learning that she had been making decisions involving his mother behind his back.
“Who is this man?”” he asked.
“His name is Mark. Claire said he had helped someone she knew.””
“Do you have his full name?””
“I have his number.””
“Give it to me.””
Jessica hesitated.
“David, I don't think you understand. He said he could help. I was desperate.””
“And what did he ask for in return?””
“Nothing at first.””
“At first?””
She started crying again.
“He said he needed proof that my financial situation would improve. He suggested that if your mother sold her house, the proceeds could be used to pay off the loans.””
David turned sharply.
“Suggested?””
“He said it would be a simple family arrangement.””
“And you believed him?””
“I wanted to believe him!””
David rubbed his face.
“Did you ever tell him you had permission to make decisions about my mother's property?””
Jessica's silence lasted too long.
“Jessica.””
“I said I was helping manage things in the household.””
“That's not what I asked.””
She whispered, “I may have implied that she trusted me to help.””
David stared at her.
“You made a stranger believe you could influence my mother's financial decisions.””
“I was trying to save our marriage!””
“You were risking my mother's home to protect yourself from the consequences of your own choices.””
Jessica flinched.
The accusation was harsh, but she didn't deny it.
David sat down opposite her.
“Tell me everything. Start at the beginning, and don't leave anything out.””
Jessica took a tissue from the coffee table.
“I started using credit cards when we bought the house. I wanted everything to look perfect. The furniture, the clothes, the holidays. Whenever we had guests, I wanted them to think we were doing well.””
David frowned.
“We were doing well.””
“I know that now. But I kept comparing myself to other people. Claire would show me pictures of trips, expensive restaurants, designer bags. I started buying things I couldn't afford.””
“You could have told me.””
“I was ashamed.””
“So you hid the bills.””
“Yes.””
“And when your debts grew, you looked for another way out.””
Jessica nodded.
“I thought I could borrow enough to pay off the cards. Then I'd repay the loan in smaller installments. But the interest and fees were worse than I expected.””
“How long has this been going on?””
“Almost a year.””
David felt a hollow ache in his chest.
A year of shared meals, conversations, weekend plans, and ordinary evenings.
A year during which Jessica had concealed a financial crisis that could affect their entire future.
“Why didn't you tell me when Mom moved in?”” he asked.
“Because I was afraid you would spend money helping her instead of helping me.””
David stared at her.
“My mother has never asked me to pay her debts. She has never asked me to buy her anything. She doesn't even let me pay for all her groceries.””
“I know.””
“No, Jessica. You don't seem to know anything about the woman you live with.””
Jessica began sobbing.
He let the silence settle between them.
After a while, he asked, “What did Claire mean when she said you promised this would be over before I found out?””
Jessica looked at him through wet eyelashes.
“She introduced me to Mark. She also helped me gather information about the house.””
“Information such as?””
“The estimated value. The location. The fact that your mother had no mortgage.””
David stood.
“You researched my mother's house with her?””
“We looked at public property records.””
“And you were planning to sell it?””
“I thought it was the only way to clear the debt quickly.””
“You keep saying you thought. Did you actually contact an estate agent?””
Jessica's face crumpled.
“Yes.””
The word was barely audible.
David felt as though someone had struck him.
“When?””
“Three weeks ago.””
“Without Mom's permission?””
“I only asked for an estimate!””
“Did you tell the agent you were the owner?””
“No. I said I was a family member helping with a possible sale.””
“Did you give them my mother's contact details?””
“Yes.””
David turned away.
He needed a moment to keep his voice steady.
His mother had spent forty years protecting that house. She had planted flowers in the front garden, repaired the fence with his father, and watched him leave for college from the front porch.
Now his wife had quietly begun preparing to dispose of it.
“Did the agent contact Mom?””
Jessica shook her head.
“I don't think so.””
“You don't think so?””
“I asked them not to contact her yet.””
David closed his eyes.
He could hear his mother's voice from earlier that evening.
I was going to leave before you came home.
She had planned to abandon the safety of her son's home rather than tell him that his wife was mistreating her.
And all the while, Jessica had been making plans involving the one property Margaret still considered her own.
“Give me Mark's number,” David said.
Jessica handed him her phone.
He copied the number onto his own device but didn't call it.
Instead, he photographed the relevant messages and sent them to Helen Brooks, the attorney.
He also sent a short message explaining that his wife had admitted sharing Margaret's property information with a third party and contacting an estate agent.
Helen replied within minutes.
Please preserve all original messages. Do not delete anything or make accusations to the third party. I recommend that Mrs. Carter contact her bank directly tomorrow and that we meet as soon as possible.
David showed Jessica the response.
“She wants us to preserve everything.””
Jessica nodded.
“Will you tell her what I said?””
“Yes.””
“David, please don't let this destroy our marriage.””
He looked at her.
“You've been making decisions about our marriage for a year. You decided I couldn't be trusted with the truth. You decided my mother could be pressured into leaving. You decided her property could become your solution.””
“I know I was wrong.””
“Then the first thing you need to do is stop asking me to protect you from the consequences.””
Jessica wiped her face.
“What happens now?””
“I don't know.””
He meant it.
He didn't know whether their marriage could survive the lies. He didn't know how much of the financial situation remained hidden. He didn't even know whether the woman he had married understood how deeply she had hurt his mother.
But he knew what had to happen next.
“Tomorrow, we're meeting with the attorney. You're going to tell her everything you told me. You're going to disclose every debt and every document. And Mom will make her own decisions about her property.””
Jessica nodded.
“Okay.””
David went upstairs to check on Margaret.
He found her sitting on the edge of her bed, carefully folding the cardigan she had worn that afternoon.
“Mom, what are you doing?””
She looked up.
“Packing a few things.””
His heart sank.
“Why?””
“Just in case.””
He crossed the room and took the cardigan from her hands.
“There is no need to pack.””
Margaret gave him a weary smile.
“Sometimes, sweetheart, a woman knows when she isn't wanted.””
David knelt before her.
“You are wanted here. By me. And you don't have to earn your place by washing dishes or keeping quiet.””
She touched his cheek.
“You sound just like your father when you say that.””
David swallowed.
“I wish he were here.””
“So do I.””
They sat together for a while, speaking softly about his father and the old house.
Before he left, Margaret took his hand.
“David, I need you to understand something about Jessica.””
He looked up.
“What is it?””
Margaret hesitated.
“I don't believe she planned all of this alone.””
David frowned.
“Why do you say that?””
“Because the day I found the papers, I heard her speaking to Claire. She said she was afraid of what would happen if she didn't do what Mark wanted.””
David went still.
“Did she say anything else?””
Margaret nodded slowly.
“She said, ‘He knows where we live.’”
A chill passed through David.
Before he could ask another question, his phone rang.
Helen Brooks was calling.
He answered immediately.
“Ms. Brooks?””
“Mr. Carter, I have reviewed the information you sent me.””
“And?””
Her voice became more serious.
“I've found a detail that changes how we need to approach this.””
David gripped the phone.
“What detail?””
“The person who contacted my office didn't simply ask about your mother's property. They referred to a document that has never been signed by your mother.””
David looked toward the bedroom door.
“What kind of document?””
“A proposed power of attorney.””
He felt his blood run cold.
Helen continued.
“Mr. Carter, before we meet tomorrow, I need you to ask your mother one question.””
“What question?””
“Has anyone ever asked her to sign a document giving another person authority over her finances?””
David glanced at the packed overnight bag near the bedroom wall.
Then he looked at his mother.
“Mom,” he whispered, “did you ever sign anything Jessica gave you?””
Margaret's face lost its color.
She reached for the bedside drawer, opened it, and pulled out a small blue folder.
“I didn't sign it,” she said.
David exhaled.
Then Margaret opened the folder to reveal a second document.
“But I did find this in my room last week.””
David took it.
At the top of the page was his mother's full name.
Beneath it was a section titled *Proposed Attorney-in-Fact*.
May you like
And the name printed on that line wasn't Jessica's.
It was David's.
