Chapter 17: The Devil's Bargain
Arthur Vance’s office was located in a sleek, glass-paneled building downtown, but the atmosphere inside felt as heavy as a tomb. I sat across from his mahogany desk, my hands clenched into fists in my lap. Evelyn sat beside me, her posture rigid, her eyes fixed on the foreclosure notice Arthur was examining under a desk lamp.
"This is incredibly sophisticated," Arthur muttered, taking off his reading glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Judith didn't go to a traditional bank for this. A traditional bank would have required a mountain of underwriting, in-person interviews, and appraisals. She went to a hard money lender."
"What does that mean for us?" Evelyn asked, her voice tight but remarkably steady.
"It means Apex Financial Solutions operates in the gray area of the law," Arthur explained, leaning back in his leather chair. "They lend large amounts of cash quickly at exorbitant interest rates, using real estate as collateral. Because they had the forged quitclaim deed and Brenda’s notary seal, they are going to claim they are a 'bona fide lender in good faith.'"
"In English, Arthur," I demanded.
"In English, it means that even though the deed was forged, Apex can legally argue that they didn't know it was forged when they gave Judith the money. Under Kentucky real estate law, if they didn't know about the fraud, their lien on your house remains completely valid."
I felt the blood drain from my face. "Are you telling me I have to pay a hundred and twenty thousand dollars for a loan my mother stole, or I lose my house?"
"I'm telling you that's what Apex is betting on," Arthur corrected, his eyes narrowing with a predatory gleam. "But I don't buy it. A hundred and twenty thousand dollars is a massive payout for a walk-in client with a freshly minted quitclaim deed. Someone at Apex had to bend the rules to push this through."
Arthur turned his computer monitor toward us. On the screen was the corporate registration for Apex Financial Solutions.
"I did some digging before you arrived," Arthur said softly. "The managing director of Apex is a man named Silas Vance."
Evelyn gasped. "Vance? Like Marcus?"
"Exactly," Arthur nodded grimly. "Silas is Marcus’s uncle on his father's side. He's a known bottom-feeder in the Louisville real estate market. Judith didn't just stumble into this loan. She conspired with Silas. He knowingly accepted a forged deed to help her extract the equity from your home."
"Then we go to the police," I said, standing up. "We have them."
"Not yet," Arthur cautioned, holding up a hand. "Silas is insulated. If we accuse him now, he’ll claim he just processed paperwork and throw an underling under the bus. To void this lien, we have to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Silas Vance explicitly knew the deed was forged when he signed the check."
"How do we do that?" Evelyn asked. "Marcus is in prison, and he’s too stupid to understand paper trails. Brenda already told us she just stamped it."
"There is only one person alive who knows exactly how that deal was structured, who spoke to Silas, and who knows where the communication logs are hidden," Arthur said, looking at me with a grim expression.
I felt a cold dread settle in my stomach. I knew exactly who he was talking about.
"No," I said, pacing the room. "No. I am not going back to her. She’s locked away. I am not giving her the satisfaction of seeing me beg."
May you like
"Colin," Evelyn said softly, standing up and placing a warm hand on my chest. I stopped pacing and looked into her eyes. They weren't filled with the exhausted terror I remembered from a year ago. They were filled with fierce, unyielding fire.
"We are not victims anymore," Evelyn said, her voice ringing with absolute certainty. "She thinks she left a trap for us. Let's go to that prison and spring it on her. We are going to take back our home, and we are going to bury her forever."
