Chapter 7 - The Anatomy of a Scam
Daniel sat across from me,
his hands trembling as he held a mug of tea I had forced him to drink.
"Start from the beginning,"
I said,
laying out the records I had found.
"How did Marissa introduce you to Victor?"
He sighed,
a long,
shaky breath.
"She said he was a 'visionary'."
"She said he had access to off-market properties before they hit the MLS."
"She told me that if we didn't move fast,
we'd miss the opportunity of a lifetime."
I pointed to the photo I’d found of Marissa and Victor.
"Did you know they were together three years ago?"
Daniel stared at the photo,
his eyes widening in shock.
"No...
she said he was just a business associate she'd met at a conference."
"They were partners,
Daniel,"
I said,
my voice softening with pity.
"Victor provided the 'opportunity',
and Marissa provided the mark."
"She didn't love you."
"She targeted you because you had good credit,
a stable job,
and a mother with a paid-off house."
The realization hit him like a physical weight,
his shoulders dropping even further.
"Everything...
it was all a lie?"
"The marriage,
the plans for kids...
all of it?"
"I'm afraid so,"
I said.
"I tracked the money you wired to Ascent Horizons."
"It didn't go to real estate."
"It went into a series of offshore accounts,
and then it was withdrawn at various casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas."
"They were gambling with your life,
Daniel."
He looked around the kitchen,
at the designer appliances and the expensive finishes Marissa had insisted on.
"I spent everything to keep her happy."
"And when the money ran out,
she tried to take yours."
"And when that failed,
she discarded me like trash."
"You are not trash,
Daniel,"
I said,
reaching across the table to take his hand.
"You are a man who made a mistake because you have a good heart."
"But now,
we have to deal with the fallout."
"The half-million dollars is gone,
but the debt is legally questionable since it was based on fraud."
"We’re going to find a lawyer who specializes in white-collar crime."
"We’re going to go to the police together."
"And we’re going to make sure Marissa and Victor never do this to anyone else."
He looked at me,
and for the first time in years,
I saw my son looking back.
"Why are you helping me?"
he asked.
"After what I said...
after I told you you weren't family?"
"Because I'm your mother,"
I said.
"And a mother doesn't stop being a mother just because her son is a fool."
"But,"
I added,
my voice firming.
"You are going to sell this house."
May you like
"You are going to move back into your old room."
"And you are going to spend the next ten years earning back every bit of respect you lost."
