Part 7
Monday morning arrived, and the pressure cooker was officially whistling.
I spent the morning working from home, enjoying the absolute peace of my quiet house while Anna was at school. I knew exactly what was happening behind the scenes at my parents' office. The panic would be absolute.
At 11:00 AM, my phone rang. It wasn't my parents or Sabrina this time. It was an unknown number from a local financial institution.
"Hello, is this Claire Davis?" a professional voice asked.
"Yes, it is."
"Mrs. Davis, this is Marcus Vance, the senior loan officer at First State Bank. We have an urgent application for a home equity line of credit from Robert and Janet Vance. They have listed you as their corporate accountant and are requesting an expedited verification of their business revenues to secure an emergency loan. They mentioned it was a matter of life and death."
A cold, sharp thrill ran down my spine. They were trying to borrow the money against their house to pay me back.
"Mr. Vance," I said, keeping my voice thoroughly professional. "As the accountant for R&J Logistics, I cannot in good conscience verify those revenue numbers at this time."
There was a long pause on the other end. "May I ask why, Mrs. Davis?"
"The business has just lost its primary shipping contracts as of this morning, representing a sixty-four percent drop in projected quarterly income. Furthermore, the commercial lease for their primary operations facility has been terminated due to non-compliance. The business is currently insolvent."
I could hear the frantic clicking of a keyboard on the other end of the line.
"I see," Mr. Vance said, his tone instantly shifting from helpful to alarmed. "Thank you for that vital information, Mrs. Davis. You've saved us a catastrophic mistake. The loan application will be denied immediately."
"Glad I could help," I murmured, hanging up.
They wanted an easy way out. They wanted to borrow money, pay me back, and then continue living their lives while blaming me for forcing them into debt. They didn't want to feel the pain of their actions. They didn't want to sacrifice anything of their own.
I wasn't going to let them get off that easily.
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Ten minutes later, Sabrina sent a frantic text message: The bank rejected Mom and Dad's loan! They said the business is dead! What did you do, Claire?! You're killing our parents! Carter is crying in his room! He's going to lose everything!
I typed back a single sentence: Thirty-four thousand dollars for your Mercedes, Sabrina. Start listing it on the market.
