“But I have a case, right?” I asked, clinging to my coffee cup with both hands. “I signed the papers. He’s right about that. My signature is on all the documents.”
“You signed under false pretenses,” Edward replied firmly. “He told you they were papers to improve your pension, not to take out a two-hundred-thousand-dollar loan. That’s called fraud in the inducement. Besides, we have something much better.”
He leaned forward.
“His recorded confession. That recording is pure gold, Brenda. In it, he admits everything. The deceit, the plan, the intentions. A prosecutor would love to have evidence this clear.”
I felt a small relief in my chest.
“So what do we do now?”
“First, we’re going to make several copies of that recording. One you keep on your phone. Another we upload to the cloud. Another I’ll keep on a USB drive. We can’t risk losing that evidence.”
Edward stood up and went to his desk.
“Second, first thing tomorrow morning, we go to the bank. We need to report the fraud immediately. The bank has protocols for these cases.”
“What if they don’t believe me?”
My voice sounded small, scared. The courage I had felt in the restaurant was beginning to fade, replaced by fear and uncertainty.
“They’ll believe you,” Edward assured me. “You have the recording. You have your age, which plays in your favor because it’s easier to prove you were manipulated. And we have the fact that you haven’t touched a penny of that money. All the money went directly to Michael. The pattern is clear.”
He returned with a USB drive.
“Give me the recording. I’m going to save it right now.”
I handed him my phone with trembling hands. Edward connected the drive and transferred the file.
While we waited, he asked, “Do you have all the papers you signed at the bank?”
“Michael took the copies. He said he needed them for the paperwork.”
“Of course he did,” Edward muttered in disgust. “But the bank has everything on file. Tomorrow, we will request copies of all documents related to that loan. We’ll also ask for the bank’s security camera footage, if possible. We need to prove Michael was present on all occasions, that he directed the entire process.”
“Sarah,” I said suddenly. “The bank teller. She helped us every time. She must remember. She saw everything.”
Edward wrote down the name.
“Perfect. Sarah will be a key witness. If she testifies that your son directed the whole process, that you seemed confused, that he answered all the questions for you, that strengthens the case enormously.”
He finished copying the file and gave me back my phone.
“Now, something very important. Does Michael have a key to your house?”
The question took me by surprise.
“Yes. He has a copy.”
“Change the locks today. Call a locksmith right now.”
Edward’s tone was urgent.
“Michael is desperate. Desperate people do unpredictable things. He might try to get into your house to look for documents, your phone, anything he can use to his advantage or destroy against you.”
A chill ran down my spine. I had never been afraid of my own son. But now, now I didn’t know what he was capable of.
“Do you really think he would do that?”
“Brenda, that man stole two hundred thousand dollars from you, planning to leave you homeless. Yes, I believe he’s capable of that and more.”
Edward took out his phone.
“I have the number of a reliable locksmith. I’m going to call him right now. He’ll charge you extra for the emergency service, but it’s worth it.”
While Edward made the call, I sat on that sofa processing everything. My life had completely changed in just a few hours. This morning, I had woken up as usual, worried about my sewing, thinking about what to cook, missing my son. Now I was at a lawyer’s house planning how to put that same son in jail.
Edward finished the call.
“The locksmith can be at your house in two hours. I’m going with you. I don’t want you to be alone while they change the locks in case Michael shows up.”
He sat down across from me again.
“Now I need to ask you something difficult. Are you prepared for the consequences of this? If we move forward, Michael will be arrested. He will face criminal charges. He could go to prison for several years. His reputation will be destroyed. He’ll probably lose his job. His marriage to Christina might not survive. Are you ready for that?”
I closed my eyes. I saw Michael’s face as a baby, as a child, when he graduated from college.
But then I saw his face in that restaurant, laughing as he planned my destruction. I heard his voice calling me weak, old, and an idiot.
I remembered how he said he was ashamed of me.
And the answer was clear.
“I’m ready,” I said, opening my eyes. “He made his decision when he decided to rob me. I’m making mine now. I’m not going to protect him from the consequences of his actions just because he’s my son. That’s exactly what he expects. That my mother’s love will make me weak. But I’m not weak anymore.”
Edward nodded in approval.
“Good. Then we start tomorrow. We go to the bank at nine in the morning. Afterward, we go to the prosecutor’s office to file a formal complaint. With the evidence we have, the prosecutor will act fast. They’ll probably issue an arrest warrant in a matter of days.”
“And the money?” I asked. “Is there any way to recover the two hundred thousand dollars?”
“Partially,” Edward replied. “Your son already spent fifty thousand on the deposit for the restaurant space. That money is probably lost, although we could try to recover it from the owner if it’s proven he knew about the fraud, but it’s complicated. The other hundred fifty thousand, if it’s still in his account, can be frozen by court order. We can also request that the loan be canceled since it was obtained fraudulently. The bank will fight it at first, but with the evidence we have, they’ll eventually have to give in.”
“How long will all this take? Months?”
“Maybe a year or more. Legal processes are slow.”
