Part 2
I opened the door but left the security chain fastened.
Vanessa thrust the letter toward the narrow opening.
“What did you do?”
I glanced at the document.
A default notice.
It did not belong to me.
It belonged to her.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said.
Mom stepped closer, her hands shaking.
“Emily, please. Your father didn’t explain everything.”
Vanessa snapped, “They used the house as collateral for my wedding.”
I looked directly at Mom.
She lowered her gaze.
Of course.
My parents had not given Vanessa a four-hundred-thousand-dollar gift.
They had borrowed against their home, exhausted their credit lines, and quietly assumed I would reimburse the expenses for my own wedding so they could continue making payments.
But I had paid them only once.
Then I disappeared.
No additional checks.
No emergency transfers.
No obedient younger daughter waiting to repair the damage.
Vanessa struck the door with her palm.
“You knew this would happen.”
“No,” I replied. “I knew an invoice meant I owed nothing after I paid it.”
Mom began crying.
“Your father thought if both weddings looked equal, people would respect the family.”
“Then he should have sent Vanessa an invoice too.”
Vanessa’s expression twisted.
“Mine was different.”
I gave her a faint smile.
“Because you deserved it?”
She hesitated too long.
Caleb moved beside me.
“Emily, do you want me to call someone?”
Vanessa pointed toward him.
“Stay out of this. She ruined my life.”
“No,” I said. “Your wedding planner and champagne tower ruined your life.”
Mom lowered her voice.
“The bank is giving us ten days.”
Then she reached inside her purse and removed another document.
“We need you to sign this. Temporarily.”
My name appeared across the top.
It was a refinancing agreement.
They had listed me as a guarantor without asking.
Caleb’s voice became cold.
“That document has her personal information.”
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“Just sign it. You already paid once.”
