Chapter 8 - The House He Tried to Steal
The forged signature was dated December twenty-seventh.
Five days earlier.
The transfer had not yet been recorded with the county.
That was the only reason the penthouse still legally belonged to me.
Samantha called the recorder’s office immediately and submitted a fraud notice.
Then she contacted a judge for emergency injunctive relief.
Ryan had come frighteningly close.
One filing.
One administrative processing cycle.
And he could have created a legal nightmare around my home.
Not ownership in the long term.
But enough confusion to borrow against it.
Enough to leverage it.
Enough to move money before I realized what happened.
I looked at Samantha.
“Why?”
She was silent.
“Why would he need this much?”
Half a million dollars.
My corporate account.
The house.
The forged investment.
The credit charges.
The Nassau trip.
These weren’t random acts of greed.
Something was collapsing.
Samantha searched Ryan’s holding company again.
This time she looked for liens.
She found three.
Then four.
Then six.
Private lenders.
Bridge loans.
Commercial debt.
Ryan owed more than $2.3 million.
I stared at the number.
“That’s impossible.”
“He’s been borrowing against assets.”
“He doesn’t have assets.”
“He pretended he did.”
Grant and Diane’s former house had become collateral.
Two luxury vehicles were collateral.
A rental condo Brooke used was collateral.
And according to one lender packet, my penthouse was supposed to become collateral on January third.
The day before their flight to Nassau.
I finally understood.
Ryan wasn’t transferring my house because he wanted to own it.
He intended to borrow against it.
Then leave.
I checked the Nassau reservation.
One-way tickets.
No return flight.
My skin went cold.
Samantha noticed.
“They were leaving.”
“With my money.”
“Yes.”
“What about Grant?”
She searched additional records.
Then she found a separate reservation.
Grant had a ticket too.
Not Nassau.
Cayman Islands.
January second.
The entire family had planned departures within forty-eight hours of each other.
My phone suddenly rang.
Denver Police.
I answered.
“Mrs. Bennett, this is Detective Naomi Keller.”
“Yes.”
“We’re expanding the investigation involving your husband.”
My grip tightened.
“Why?”
“We executed a consent search on a device connected to financial records.”
She paused.
“We found communications indicating that your family may have been planning to access additional assets following the birth of your child.”
My baby moved beneath my hand.
“What assets?”
“That’s what we need to discuss.”
“When?”
“As soon as possible.”
Then she added quietly.
“Mrs. Bennett, before you come in, I need you to check something.”
“What?”
“Your life insurance beneficiary.”
“I already know Ryan is listed.”
“Not yours.”
May you like
I waited.
“Your unborn child’s trust.”
