“But why threaten me?” I asked.
Emma looked straight at me.
“Because if investigators discover misused funds from a vulnerable adult, that’s not just bad business. That’s criminal.”
Criminal.
The word echoed through me.
I did not raise a criminal.
But perhaps I had raised a son so afraid of failure that he let fear choose his morals for him.
Just then my phone rang.
Daniel.
Emma and I stared at the screen.
“Answer it,” she said.
I pressed accept.
Daniel’s voice sounded different this time.
Not angry.
Not loud.
Tired.
“Mom,” he said softly, “please. We need to talk alone.”
Emma leaned closer so she could hear.
“You can talk now,” I said.
“Not like this,” he said. “In person.”
“After everything yesterday,” Emma said, “we are not meeting privately.”
Daniel let out a long breath.
“Fine. Then listen carefully. The investigation you started is going to expose everything. Investors will panic. Creditors will file motions. The company will collapse within days.”
Emma did not react.
Then Daniel said the thing that made my whole body go cold.
“And if that happens, Mom, you won’t just lose money. You’ll lose the house too.”
The house.
My house.
“What do you mean?” I whispered.
There was a pause.
Then Daniel said it.
“Rachel and I used your property as collateral for a short-term business loan.”
The room spun.
