Chapter 9 - FRANK’S OFFICE
Wendy went to Frank’s office carrying nothing but her handbag and a phone.
Maya had explained the applicable recording rules and helped her prepare questions that would not turn the meeting into an interrogation. Jessi wanted Frank to describe the financial arrangement in his own words before he knew which documents had been preserved.
Frank greeted Wendy warmly.
He looked exhausted.
His property-management business had begun losing clients, and the money he invested with Luca was almost all he had left of Chloe’s inheritance.
For twenty minutes he spoke about loyalty.
He said Luca made mistakes but deserved a chance to repair them. He said Jessi had always treated her house as something more important than marriage. He said Chloe was confused, young and vulnerable to manipulation.
Wendy let him talk.
Then she asked about the $180,000.
Frank’s expression changed.
“That’s business money.”
“It was Chloe’s.”
“She benefits if it comes back.”
“Did she authorize you to invest it?”
Frank looked away.
Wendy pressed gently.
“What happens if Jessi refuses the house loan?”
Frank stopped pretending the answer was simple.
His personal guarantee would become enforceable. Chloe’s money could be lost permanently. Luca’s company might collapse. Frank’s own property business could be drawn into litigation.
Wendy asked why Jessi should pay for any of that.
Frank grew angry.
“Because she’s married to Luca.”
“That doesn’t make her mother’s house yours.”
“You sound like her.”
Wendy nearly smiled.
For once, that was not an insult.
Then Frank explained the proposed divorce settlement. He claimed Jessi could keep the house if she accepted the debt, because Luca would assume the business liabilities and leave quietly.
Wendy asked whether Jessi knew the loan was not yet approved.
Frank hesitated.
“The bank is finalizing it.”
“Did she sign?”
“She will.”
“How do you know?”
Frank’s answer became the useful part.
“After what she saw at the motel, she’ll want him gone badly enough.”
Wendy went silent.
Frank continued, unaware that he had just confirmed the central trap.
“She’s proud. Give her a way to look like she won, and she won’t study every attachment.”
Wendy left ten minutes later.
She did not shout.
She did not tell him he was a disgrace.
She walked to her car, called Jessi and said only, “I’m coming over.”
That evening Maya reviewed Wendy’s account of the conversation alongside Frank’s emails. Investigators now had documents and testimony linking the affair’s planned exposure to the proposed debt settlement.
The next complication came from the lender.
The lender had discovered irregular signatures in the loan file and suspended the transaction. But it also reported that someone attempted to submit a new authorization under Jessi’s name after Maya’s preservation notice.
The submission used a different internet connection.
Frank’s office.
The conspiracy was still active.
Jessi looked at Wendy.
“Your brother knows the loan is frozen.”
Wendy nodded.
“And he tried again anyway.”
There was no emotional explanation left that could make the conduct harmless.
May you like
Frank had not merely made one desperate decision.
He was continuing because stopping meant admitting what he had done.
