Chapter 8 - The Page Franklin Removed
The ledger skipped from page forty-three to page forty-five.
Page forty-four had been cut cleanly from the binding.
Maris ran one finger along the edge.
“What was here?”
Franklin looked away.
Colton became impatient.
“Why does it matter?”
“Because someone removed it.”
Derek picked up the ledger.
“The entries before it are from twelve years ago. The entries after it are from four years ago.”
Maris looked at Franklin.
“Why were you still using this ledger four years ago?”
He said nothing.
Elaine whispered, “That was when Colton’s development failed.”
Colton’s face hardened.
“What are you talking about?”
The family knew Colton’s first housing project had stalled.
Franklin said the company absorbed the loss.
The ledger suggested otherwise.
Elaine continued.
“Franklin borrowed against the house again.”
Maris felt cold.
“He couldn’t. The property was already pledged to the holding company.”
“He did it through a private lender.”
Franklin slammed his hand against the table.
“Enough.”
Maris ignored him.
“How much?”
Elaine looked toward Colton.
“Almost six hundred thousand.”
Colton stared at his father.
“You told me the company covered it.”
“The company is the family.”
“No,” Maris said. “The company was using my collateral.”
Derek shifted uneasily.
Elaine looked at him next.
“And the Jaguar loan paid for Derek’s equipment division.”
Derek went still.
“What Jaguar loan?”
Franklin’s face darkened.
Maris understood.
The vehicle title had been pledged repeatedly despite belonging to the protective holding company.
Franklin had treated Maris’s assets as his private emergency fund for years.
Colton’s failed project.
Derek’s division.
Business debts.
Lifestyle expenses.
Maris opened the black folder and removed a financial summary prepared by Walter’s attorney.
The numbers were incomplete, but the pattern was clear.
Franklin had refinanced, borrowed, and cross-collateralized assets without disclosing the original agreement.
Some loans carried signatures Maris had never made.
Colton read one line.
“Personal guarantee: Maris Camden.”
He looked at her.
“Did you sign this?”
“No.”
Derek examined another page.
“This one too.”
“No.”
Both brothers turned toward Franklin.
Their smug confidence had vanished.
Franklin picked up his beer and drank slowly.
“You benefited from every decision.”
Colton pushed back from the table.
“You forged her name for my project?”
“I protected your future.”
“You put fraud under my company.”
“I fixed your mistake.”
Derek’s voice became quiet.
“What happens if these guarantees are invalid?”
Franklin did not answer.
Maris did.
“The loans may be called immediately.”
May you like
Both brothers went pale.
👉 Colton and Derek had mocked Maris for leaving the family business—but Franklin had tied their entire futures to signatures she never gave.
