Faye was waiting at the door when we arrived.
She looked frightened.
“Come in.”
We followed her upstairs.
“Where is it?”
“In Roland's old office.”
“Why was his stuff here?”
“He used the room when he stayed with me.”
She opened a locked drawer.
Inside was a thin black folder.
“I found it after he left.”
Elena took it.
“Did you read it?”
“Some.”
“What did you see?”
Faye swallowed.
“Enough to know Roland wasn't telling me everything.”
Elena opened the folder.
The first page was a financial assessment.
Roland's company had been losing money for nearly two years.
But the next page showed something unexpected.
A separate liability.
Private debt.
Not connected to the company.
I looked at Faye.
“What is this?”
“I didn't know about it.”
“How much?”
“More than a million.”
I looked closer.
The debt had been acquired from another lender.
The original creditor was a company I'd never heard of.
Northbridge Capital.
Elena frowned.
“This isn't a normal commercial lender.”
“What is it?”
“Private financing.”
“Who owns it?”
She searched the file.
“Northbridge is controlled by a holding company.”
“Which one?”
She turned the page.
Then stopped.
I watched her expression change.
“What?”
She showed me the name.
Cole Holdings.
My stomach tightened.
“Adrian Cole.”
“No,” Elena said.
“Then who?”
“His estate.”
I stared.
Adrian had died two years ago.
His estate had apparently acquired Roland's private debt.
“How?”
“I don't know yet.”
Faye sat down.
“Roland told me the debt came from an old business partner.”
“Did he name anyone?”
“Samuel.”
I looked at Elena.
“Samuel Reed?”
Faye nodded.
“He said Samuel had introduced him to the lender.”
That name again.
The missing associate.
The man who had been connected to Adrian.
The man who disappeared after my grandfather died.
“Why did Roland owe him money?”
Faye shook her head.
“He said it was for a business opportunity.”
“Was it?”
“I don't know.”
Elena read further.
“There are payments listed here.”
“To Samuel Reed.”
“How much?”
“Almost four hundred thousand.”
I felt numb.
“Where did Roland get that money?”
“Some came from the company.”
“And some?”
Elena looked at me.
“Some came from a personal account.”
“My account?”
“No.”
She turned the page.
“An account opened under Faye's name.”
Faye's face went pale.
“I never opened an account.”
Elena studied the paperwork.
“Someone did.”
Faye looked at me.
“I swear I didn't.”
“I believe you.”
That surprised her.
But I had learned something important.
Not every signature told the truth.
The next page contained a bank authorization.
The signature looked like Faye's.
But the handwriting was slightly wrong.
Elena photographed it.
“We'll have it examined.”
Then we found a note.
Handwritten.
Roland's.
I recognized his writing.
I read it aloud.
Samuel says the old debt must be settled before the trust issue can move forward.
I looked up.
“The trust issue?”
Elena took the note.
“That phrase matters.”
“What does it mean?”
“It suggests the debt and the trust plan were connected.”
Faye covered her mouth.
“I didn't know.”
I believed her.
She had been involved.
But involvement wasn't the same as understanding the whole scheme.
I asked her:
“When did Roland first mention the trust to you?”
“About six months ago.”
“Before Wren was born.”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He said your family had assets that couldn't be touched.”
“Did he say he wanted them?”
“No.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he needed to protect you from people who wanted to take them.”
I almost laughed.
“That sounds noble.”
“He made it sound noble.”
“And you believed him.”
“Yes.”
Faye looked ashamed.
“I was wrong.”
I didn't argue.
Elena turned another page.
There was a meeting schedule.
Victor.
Samuel.
Roland.
The meeting was scheduled for the day after Wren's birth.
I felt cold.
“Roland told me he left because he needed air.”
Faye whispered:
“He wasn't taking a break.”
“No.”
“He was meeting them.”
“Yes.”
The date was circled.
Then I saw the location.
A warehouse near the river.
Elena photographed it.
“We need to know what happened there.”
Faye looked at me.
“There was something else.”
“What?”
“Roland called me afterward.”
“What did he say?”
“He said the plan had changed.”
“How?”
“He wouldn't tell me.”
“Did he sound frightened?”
“Yes.”
“Of Victor?”
Faye shook her head.
“Of someone else.”
“Who?”
“He said, ‘She knows.’”
I stared.
“Who is she?”
“I don't know.”
Elena looked at me.
“Could he have meant you?”
“No.”
Faye shook her head.
“He said it differently.”
“How?”
“He sounded terrified.”
We left shortly afterward.
On the drive home, Elena was quiet.
“What are you thinking?”
“That Roland's debt may have been used to pressure him into the trust arrangement.”
“By Victor?”
“Possibly.”
“And Samuel?”
“Possibly.”
“And Adrian's estate?”
“Also possible.”
I sighed.
“Too many possibilities.”
“That is why we need evidence.”
My phone buzzed.
A message from Roland.
I need to tell you the truth before they get to you.
I stared.
Then another arrived.
The warehouse was not where the plan began.
It was where I realized I was already trapped.
I showed Elena.
“Call him,” she said.
I did.
He answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
“I'm coming to you.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because they're watching me.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You said you wanted to tell me the truth.”
“I do.”
“Then tell me now.”
He was silent.
Then he said:
“The debt wasn't mine originally.”
“What does that mean?”
“It belonged to someone in your family.”
My blood went cold.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“I swear I don't.”
“Roland.”
“I found the records after Grandpa died.”
I froze.
“You found records after my grandfather died?”
“Yes.”
“What records?”
“The original debt ledger.”
“Whose debt?”
His voice dropped.
“Your mother's.”
I stopped breathing.
Click here to continue reading: PART 12: Roland Claimed My Mother Had Left Behind a Debt Connected to Grandpa’s Investigation, and the Document He Sent Me Made Everything Personal
Six Days Into Motherhood, I Thought My Husband Was Giving Me Space—Until One Small Detail Made Me Question Everything About His Disappearance
Part 11 of 20
