Chapter 4 - THE MAN WHO OWNED THE DEBT
Naomi looked at Eric as though she had never seen him before.
“You bought my mother's debt?”
Eric exhaled impatiently.
“I acquired the loan through my company.”
“When?”
“Earlier this summer.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you would have reacted exactly like this.”
Naomi stared at him.
“This is how you answer a question about threatening my mother's home?”
Eric pulled out a chair.
“Sit down, Naomi. I'll explain.”
She remained standing.
“I'm listening.”
He folded his hands.
“Daniel's loan was distressed. The lender wanted it off its books. My company purchased the note so we could negotiate a solution without outsiders getting involved.”
Daniel nodded reluctantly.
“Eric kept telling me he was buying us time.”
Naomi looked at her brother.
“And you believed him?”
“He was going to be family.”
“He was already treating us like people he owned.”
Eric's expression hardened.
“I put a substantial amount of money into this. You seem to forget that.”
“No,” Naomi replied. “I'm beginning to understand exactly why you did.”
She picked up the sale authorization.
“Who benefits when Willow House is sold?”
“The family pays off the debt.”
“And you?”
Eric said nothing.
“Do you receive a commission?”
“There's a consulting arrangement.”
“How much?”
“That's business information.”
Naomi laughed without humor.
“You wanted me to marry you without knowing you controlled a loan against my mother's home. And now you expect privacy about your commission?”
Daniel stood abruptly.
“Stop. Both of you.”
Naomi turned.
“No, Daniel. You don't get to stop this because you're uncomfortable.”
Her brother looked exhausted.
“I know I've made mistakes.”
“You let Mom carry the consequences.”
“I was trying to save my restaurant!”
“And what were you trying to save when you shoved me against a wall?”
Daniel lowered his head.
For once, he had no answer.
Aunt June came into the conference room carrying Naomi's handbag.
“Lucy is with one of the hotel attendants. She wants her grandmother.”
Miriam moved toward the door.
But June gently stopped her.
“Before you go, Miriam, I need to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Where's Mother's silver comb?”
Miriam touched her shortened hair.
“I don't know.”
Naomi frowned.
Her grandmother's silver comb had been part of the wedding tradition for generations.
Miriam was supposed to use it to smooth Naomi's hair before tying the blue ribbon around her wrist.
It wasn't particularly valuable.
One tooth was bent, and the silver had darkened with age.
But her grandmother had carried it in her purse every day until she died.
“It was in my dressing bag,” Miriam said.
“Did you take it to Brianna?”
Miriam hesitated.
“Marisol carried the bag.”
Everyone turned toward Marisol.
She went rigid.
“I was helping.”
“Where's the comb?” Naomi asked.
“I don't remember.”
June held out her hand.
“Your purse, please.”
Marisol recoiled.
“You can't search my belongings!”
“No,” Naomi said. “She can't. But you can tell us whether you took it.”
Marisol looked at Eric.
It was a small movement.
Almost nothing.
But Naomi noticed.
Eric immediately spoke.
“We're not wasting more time over a comb.”
Naomi stared at him.
“Why are you so determined to stop us discussing anything that matters to Mom?”
Eric pushed back his chair.
“Because every minute we spend arguing makes the property situation worse.”
Naomi glanced at Miriam.
“Mom, when did Eric tell you the loan had been transferred?”
“July.”
“Was Daniel still making payments?”
Miriam looked uncertain.
“I thought Marisol was.”
Marisol's eyes widened.
“I was.”
Daniel turned toward his wife.
“What?”
Marisol stared at him.
“I didn't want your mother receiving more collection notices. I started sending money every month.”
“How much?” Naomi asked.
“Six hundred dollars. Sometimes more.”
Eric shifted in his chair.
“Those payments were part of a broader arrangement.”
Marisol looked confused.
“You said they would reduce the balance.”
“They covered administrative and servicing costs.”
“You told me they were payments toward the loan.”
“Marisol, this isn't the time.”
But Marisol was already opening her handbag.
She removed a small checkbook register.
Naomi recognized the careful handwriting.
Marisol had always balanced every household bill down to the last dollar.
There were entries from July, August, and September.
Six hundred dollars.
Eight hundred dollars.
Nine hundred dollars.
All payable to Palmer Holdings.
Naomi looked at Eric.
“Have these payments reduced the debt?”
He said nothing.
“Eric?”
“The contractual balance remains outstanding.”
Marisol's face drained of color.
“You told me every payment helped.”
“They prevented more aggressive action.”
Naomi turned the register around.
“Did you give her written receipts?”
Marisol shook her head.
“He said it was handled through the company.”
Daniel sank into a chair.
“Marisol, why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you were ashamed enough already.”
Her voice cracked.
“And because every time I tried to talk about the restaurant, you told me things would improve.”
For the first time, Naomi saw something beneath Marisol's cruelty.
Fear.
Not innocent fear.
Not an excuse.
But months of fear twisted into resentment.
Marisol had watched their savings disappear while Daniel pretended he could repair everything.
And Eric had taken advantage of that silence.
Naomi asked Aunt June to take Miriam and Lucy somewhere comfortable.
Then she requested copies of every financial record from Daniel.
He had kept a folder in his car.
When he returned with it, Naomi sat at the conference table and began sorting through the papers.
Eric paced impatiently.
“You're not qualified to review financial agreements.”
“Neither was my mother when you pressured her.”
Daniel handed Naomi a statement from the original lender.
She compared it with a more recent balance notice from Palmer Holdings.
Something was wrong.
The original outstanding amount in July was approximately $176,000, including arrears and charges.
The September notice showed more than $182,000.
None of Marisol's payments appeared as credits against principal or interest.
Naomi laid the statements side by side.
“Daniel, did Eric ever provide you with an accounting?”
“No.”
“Did you ask?”
“He said he'd handle it.”
Eric stopped pacing.
“Some of the payments were applied to expenses permitted by the loan documents.”
“Then provide the accounting.”
“I will have my office prepare it.”
Naomi looked at Marisol.
“Do you have the canceled checks?”
“Yes.”
“Keep them.”
Marisol blinked.
“Why?”
“Because whatever happened between us today, you deserve an honest answer about where your money went.”
Marisol lowered her gaze.
For one moment, she almost looked grateful.
Then Naomi noticed another piece of paper tucked behind the latest balance notice.
It was a transaction acknowledgment from Palmer Holdings.
The date was printed at the top.
April 14.
Naomi frowned.
“Eric, you said you bought the loan in July.”
He went still.
Daniel leaned forward.
“What?”
Naomi turned the page around.
“This says your company acquired the loan in April.”
Eric's eyes narrowed.
“That's a preliminary processing date.”
But the next line was unmistakable.
Assignment completed. Purchase consideration received.
Naomi looked up.
April.
Three months before Eric claimed he had stepped in to rescue her family.
And six months before the wedding.
She turned toward Marisol.
“Eric knew this was happening long before he told you.”
Marisol stared at the paper.
May you like
Then she whispered something that made Naomi's blood run cold.
“He told me the only way to save the house was to make sure your mother didn't speak at the wedding.”
