{"id":1474,"date":"2026-10-05T13:27:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T13:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/?p=1474"},"modified":"2026-10-05T13:27:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T13:27:02","slug":"part-9-lorraines-eighty-thousand-dollar-deadline-led-travis-to-an-account-frank-had-never-mentioned-and-a-debt-nobody-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/?p=1474","title":{"rendered":"PART 9 \u2013 Lorraine\u2019s Eighty-Thousand-Dollar Deadline Led Travis to an Account Frank Had Never Mentioned and a Debt Nobody Expected"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Travis read Melissa\u2019s message three times.<\/p>\n<p>She says you are forcing her to come up with almost $80,000.<\/p>\n<p>The number did not make sense.<\/p>\n<p>For the past three years, Travis had been helping Lorraine cover a mixture of mortgage payments, insurance increases, maintenance, and occasional property taxes. The total was substantial, especially when viewed across several years, but his decision to stop did not create an immediate eighty-thousand-dollar bill.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing he had done came close.<\/p>\n<p>I took the mortgage statement from the table and looked again at the cash-out refinance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did she refinance?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you didn\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That answer was becoming increasingly common.<\/p>\n<p>Travis had believed he knew enough about his mother\u2019s finances to help responsibly. In reality, he knew only the expenses Lorraine chose to show him.<\/p>\n<p>He opened his banking app and began scrolling through old transfers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChecking dates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He found the first recurring payment he had started making on Lorraine\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n<p>Then another.<\/p>\n<p>Insurance.<\/p>\n<p>Property taxes.<\/p>\n<p>A roof repair.<\/p>\n<p>He compared them with the date of the refinance.<\/p>\n<p>The timing was almost insulting.<\/p>\n<p>Lorraine had taken cash out of the house while Travis was already paying a meaningful portion of the monthly expenses she claimed she could not manage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe never told you she received money from the refinance?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at the closing statement again.<\/p>\n<p>After fees and the previous balance had been paid off, Lorraine received just over one hundred and twelve thousand dollars.<\/p>\n<p>I sat back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd three days later?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of it left the account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The transfer receipt showed ninety-four thousand dollars moving to an unfamiliar institution.<\/p>\n<p>There was no recipient name.<\/p>\n<p>Only routing information and the final four digits of an account.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCould it have been investment money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMedical expense?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe would have said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDebt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>That possibility fit too well.<\/p>\n<p>I searched the remaining papers for anything showing loans, credit cards, collections, or legal judgments.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Frank\u2019s binder was meticulously organized through the year before his death, then increasingly sparse afterward.<\/p>\n<p>That made sense.<\/p>\n<p>Frank had built the system.<\/p>\n<p>Lorraine had merely inherited it.<\/p>\n<p>By noon, we had arranged documents across half the dining table.<\/p>\n<p>Zia came downstairs carrying a marker-stained sheet of paper and stopped when she saw the mess.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you doing taxes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomething like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She grimaced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGross.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat have you got?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She held up her page.<\/p>\n<p>A drawing of six stick figures stood beneath a crooked rainbow.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized myself, Travis, Zia, Claire, and two other cousins.<\/p>\n<p>No Lorraine.<\/p>\n<p>I tried not to stare at the absence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur family that comes to my birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sentence landed quietly.<\/p>\n<p>Travis noticed too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did you make the guest list?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He studied the drawing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to decide yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zia put the picture on the refrigerator.<\/p>\n<p>Then she noticed the vanilla candle on the shelf.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we light that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She brought it to the table.<\/p>\n<p>Travis trimmed the wick and lit it.<\/p>\n<p>Within minutes, the kitchen smelled faintly of artificial vanilla.<\/p>\n<p>Zia smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still like it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Lorraine had attached meaning to the object.<\/p>\n<p>Zia was taking some of that meaning back.<\/p>\n<p>After lunch, Melissa called.<\/p>\n<p>She sounded breathless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom just called Aaron.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis put the phone on speaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat she needs seventy-eight thousand dollars within two months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said it\u2019s a private debt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she say to whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Aaron ask?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said Dad would understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sentence changed the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrank?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa lowered her voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe told Aaron the debt began before Dad died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis\u2019s eyes moved toward Frank\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she say why Dad didn\u2019t pay it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said he was going to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I immediately distrusted the phrasing.<\/p>\n<p>Frank had left detailed notes about tax parcels, insurance policies, property repairs, and Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>If he owed nearly eighty thousand dollars to someone, why was there no mention?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she ask Aaron for money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty-five thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis actually laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Not from amusement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe asked me to cover expenses for three years, refinanced the house for over a hundred thousand, and now she\u2019s asking Aaron for twenty-five?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron had been the relative most critical of Travis ending financial support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said no?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked for paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGot offended.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said nobody trusts her anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody answered that.<\/p>\n<p>Trust was not an inheritance.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually Melissa asked, \u201cWhat are you guys finding?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis looked at the documents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough to know Dad didn\u2019t tell us everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He explained the second parcel, Samuel, the refinance, and the transfer.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa went silent.<\/p>\n<p>Finally she whispered, \u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course there is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Dad died, Mom gave me some papers to shred.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMelissa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her embarrassment was obvious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe handed me a box from the office and said they were old bills. I shredded most of it at work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne folder jammed the machine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis sat forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI took it home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you still have it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI might.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She sounded uncertain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI put it in a storage bin because Dad\u2019s handwriting was on some pages and I felt weird destroying it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFind it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m looking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She hung up.<\/p>\n<p>For the next hour, nothing happened.<\/p>\n<p>That somehow made the waiting worse.<\/p>\n<p>Travis kept returning to the eighty-thousand-dollar figure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel\u2019s settlement number was close,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Samuel says she never paid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe she borrowed money intending to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho had ninety-four thousand dollars to lend her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stared at the transfer receipt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe we\u2019re looking at it backward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe the ninety-four thousand wasn\u2019t money going to somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt says outgoing transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if she moved it into another account she controls?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen the question isn\u2019t who got the refinance money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s where she hid it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We searched the routing number online.<\/p>\n<p>It belonged to a regional bank operating mostly in three neighboring states.<\/p>\n<p>Travis had no known accounts there.<\/p>\n<p>Frank never had, as far as the binder showed.<\/p>\n<p>Lorraine might.<\/p>\n<p>He texted her.<\/p>\n<p>I need documentation for the $78,000 you told Aaron you owe. Creditor name, current statement, original agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Her response came four minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>That is none of your business now that you have decided I am no longer your mother.<\/p>\n<p>Travis stared at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>I said, \u201cDon\u2019t answer emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He typed:<\/p>\n<p>You have asked family members for money and represented this as connected to Dad and the house. If you want financial help from anyone, documentation is reasonable.<\/p>\n<p>Lorraine responded almost immediately.<\/p>\n<p>I never asked you.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>Technically true.<\/p>\n<p>She was asking everyone except him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConvenient,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Another message appeared.<\/p>\n<p>You made your decision. Live with it.<\/p>\n<p>Travis put the phone down.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty minutes later, Melissa called again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found the folder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s in it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStatements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know. There\u2019s a company name I don\u2019t recognize.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paper moved on her end.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorth Grove Capital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever heard of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt looks like a private loan agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMelissa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNinety thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin prickled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat date?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>She read it.<\/p>\n<p>Eight months before Frank died.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBorrower?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLorraine Bennett.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not Frank.<\/p>\n<p>Only Lorraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPurpose?\u201d Travis asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLender?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorth Grove Holdings LLC.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything signed by Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m looking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She turned pages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a property guarantee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis froze.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat property?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every document on our table suddenly felt heavier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho signed it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The paper rustled again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a handwritten note clipped behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s Dad\u2019s handwriting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice changed as she read.<\/p>\n<p>Lorraine\u2014do not sign anything else. I spoke with Grant. This is not what you told me. We need an attorney.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho\u2019s Grant?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa continued searching.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a business card.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She read the name.<\/p>\n<p>Grant Holloway.<\/p>\n<p>Investment advisor.<\/p>\n<p>The address was in a city two hours away.<\/p>\n<p>Travis wrote it down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA withdrawal request.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome kind of investment account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeventy-eight thousand six hundred and forty dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>The number.<\/p>\n<p>Not close.<\/p>\n<p>Exact enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d Travis asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe request is dated six months before Dad died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it paid?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa breathed slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s another note.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice became quieter.<\/p>\n<p>If Grant says the account cannot be liquidated until maturity, do not borrow against the house to cover this. We will handle Lorraine\u2019s mistake separately.<\/p>\n<p>Travis stared at the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMistake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I said it before realizing I had spoken aloud.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa turned another page.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a statement for something called North Grove Income Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose account?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBalance?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeventy-eight thousand and change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The same money.<\/p>\n<p>Or at least it had once been.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was it?\u201d Travis asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before we could decide how, another call came through.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron.<\/p>\n<p>Travis answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m with Melissa on another line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cThen she can hear this too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His tone was different.<\/p>\n<p>No judgment.<\/p>\n<p>No lecture about family loyalty.<\/p>\n<p>Only concern.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom just showed up at my house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe drove here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs she okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPhysically, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does she want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ask for documents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe brought one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA demand letter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aaron exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorth Grove Holdings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeventy-eight thousand, four hundred and something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeadline?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSixty-one days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went still.<\/p>\n<p>Sixty-one days.<\/p>\n<p>Almost exactly the sixty-day deadline Travis had given Lorraine to take over her own expenses.<\/p>\n<p>But his boundary had not created her deadline.<\/p>\n<p>It had collided with one already waiting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead the letter,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron did.<\/p>\n<p>North Grove claimed Lorraine had personally guaranteed repayment connected to an investment transaction and that the debt was secured, at least in part, by property interests.<\/p>\n<p>The wording was dense.<\/p>\n<p>But one phrase stood out.<\/p>\n<p>Notice of intent to enforce collateral rights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes that mean foreclosure?\u201d Melissa whispered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Travis looked ill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSend me a picture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Within seconds it arrived.<\/p>\n<p>He enlarged the page.<\/p>\n<p>Then his eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He pointed to the date.<\/p>\n<p>The demand letter had been issued five weeks before Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>Lorraine had known.<\/p>\n<p>Before the candle.<\/p>\n<p>Before the Guest card.<\/p>\n<p>Before the red velvet box.<\/p>\n<p>Before Travis\u2019s financial boundary.<\/p>\n<p>She had entered Christmas already facing a private debt tied to the house.<\/p>\n<p>And rather than tell anyone, she had spent the holiday provoking the son whose money had quietly protected her for years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d Melissa asked.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody had an answer.<\/p>\n<p>Then I noticed another line near the bottom.<\/p>\n<p>The lender offered a settlement option.<\/p>\n<p>Payment of seventy-eight thousand dollars would fully release the claim if received before the deadline.<\/p>\n<p>After that, additional fees and enforcement actions could begin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe needs the refinance money,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Travis looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe had ninety-four thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere did it go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That remained the central question.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa said, \u201cThere\u2019s one more page in Dad\u2019s folder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a letter addressed to Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think you should see it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Dad wrote that Lorraine had put money into North Grove without telling him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEighty thousand originally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says Grant convinced her it was guaranteed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood before she finished.<\/p>\n<p>The investment had gone bad.<\/p>\n<p>Lorraine borrowed against the house trying to recover from it.<\/p>\n<p>Frank found out.<\/p>\n<p>Then died before the problem was resolved.<\/p>\n<p>But there was still a missing piece.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf she lost eighty thousand before Frank died,\u201d I said, \u201cwhat was the one hundred twelve thousand refinance after he died for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody answered.<\/p>\n<p>Then Aaron spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Mom came over, she had another envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat envelope?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe told me not to open it unless I agreed to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis stood straighter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you open it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aaron\u2019s voice became very quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a repayment schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo North Grove?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hesitated long enough that I knew the answer would make everything worse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For one second, the name meant nothing in that context.<\/p>\n<p>Then it meant too much.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cZia\u2019s Daniel?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis\u2019s face emptied of expression.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom has been paying him for almost two years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aaron swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe memo on the first transfer says \u2018custody consultation.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/?p=1475\">Click here to continue reading: PART 10: The Payments to Daniel Began Long Before Christmas, and Lorraine\u2019s Reason for Sending Them Changed Everything Travis Believed<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Travis read Melissa\u2019s message three times. She says you are forcing her to come up with almost $80,000. The number did not make sense. For the past three years, Travis &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama-sory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1509,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions\/1509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}