Chapter 2 - The Cutoff
I stared at Karla's name on the screen while a cold fury settled into my chest.
My sister was attempting to steal two hundred thousand dollars using my property as collateral.
"We need to freeze this transaction immediately," I told Sterling with absolute certainty.
He picked up his desk phone and dialed the fraud department of the issuing bank.
While he spoke to the bank representatives, my personal cell phone began to vibrate violently in my pocket.
The caller ID flashed with Karla's name.
I answered the call and listened to the sheer panic radiating from her voice.
"Laura, why did my mortgage lender just call to say my monthly payment bounced?" Karla screamed.
"I canceled the automatic transfer this morning," I replied with a perfectly calm voice.
Karla gasped loudly as if I had just committed a violent crime against her.
"You cannot do that to me because I will lose my condo!" she shrieked into the receiver.
"You should probably use the salary from that job you brag about to pay your own bills," I suggested.
I hung up the phone before she could hurl another vicious insult at me.
Sterling placed his desk phone back on the receiver with a grim look on his face.
"The bank successfully froze the loan disbursement just in time," he announced.
I let out a heavy sigh of relief and picked up my daughter from the floor.
"However, the bank representative gave me a very disturbing piece of information," Sterling added.
I stopped near the door and waited for him to finish his sentence.
"Karla did not submit the fraudulent loan application by herself," he explained.
He handed me a printed copy of the contact sheet provided by the bank.
The loan officer had spoken to a man who explicitly claimed to be my husband.
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My abusive ex-husband, Greg, had completely vanished six months ago.
Now, his signature was sitting right next to Karla's on a fraudulent federal document.
