Family Until Fortune

The day after I found out I was still on the hook for Caroline Fox's loan, I went straight to the bank.

The loan officer pulled up her account and turned his monitor toward me. The outstanding balance was 600,000 dollars.

"She originally borrowed 120,000. Since then, she's renewed the loan 5 times and borrowed additional funds twice," he explained, pointing at the screen.

"Mr. Knight, you signed a continuing guarantee. That means you're also responsible for any additional borrowing covered by the agreement."

I stared at the number, my palms growing slick with sweat.

When I signed that guarantee, she had only borrowed 120,000.

I pulled out my phone and called Caroline. It rang twice before she declined the call.

I tried again, but this time, I couldn't get through.

I called her office instead. A woman answered in an overly sweet voice. "I'm sorry, Ms. Fox isn't available."

"I'm her brother."

She laughed. "You wouldn't believe how many people call here claiming they're related to her."

Then she hung up.

I went straight to Eastbridge Corporation's headquarters.

The lobby was so brightly lit it almost hurt my eyes. Before I could reach reception, a woman in stilettos stepped in front of me, clutching a folder to her chest.

"Mr. Knight." She gave me a once-over. "Ms. Fox asked me to tell you to stop showing up here."

"I need to speak with her. It's important," I said.

"She's busy," the woman sneered. "And she said if you're that desperate for money, you should apply for government assistance. That's what it's there for."

I clenched my fists. "She's my sister."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Two days ago, some guy showed up claiming to be her uncle. Yesterday, another man said he was related to her, too. Seems like Ms. Fox has a whole line of relatives waiting to see her."

By then, people across the lobby had started staring at me. Just then, the elevator doors opened.

Caroline stepped out with two men in suits. The man to her left was her boss, Kyle Wilson.

She spotted me and hesitated for a moment before putting on a smile.

"Who's that?" Kyle asked.

"Just a distant relative," Caroline replied casually.

Kyle nodded and patted her shoulder. "You're too nice, Caroline. Always making time for people."

I stepped forward. "Caroline, we need to talk about that loan."

"What loan?" she interrupted, still smiling. "You're the one who signed the paperwork."

"Because you asked me to!"

"Did I?" Caroline stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Can you prove it? Because if you can't, you're trying to extort money from me. I could sue you for that."

My chest tightened. "I waited outside your office for three hours just to talk to you."

"Nobody asked you to." She turned toward the reception desk. "Call security."

Two security guards approached. One grabbed my arm while the other shoved me from behind.

I struggled to pull away. "Get your hands off me!"

"Keep making a scene, and I'll call the police."

Caroline stood where she was, speaking calmly but loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Mr. Knight, how much do you make driving people around? One phone call from me, and you'll never get another job as a driver."

Everyone in the lobby watched as the guards forced me out through the revolving doors.

I stumbled onto the steps, slamming my knee against the stone. Pain shot up my leg.

Through the glass, I saw Caroline turn and walk into the elevator without so much as a backward glance.

I sat down on the curb and lit a cigarette.

It wasn't just the 600,000 hanging over my head. I couldn't stop thinking about everything I had done for her over the years.

Caroline's mother was my aunt. After she died, my uncle remarried soon afterward and sent six-year-old Caroline to live with our family.

My parents raised her like their own daughter. I was eight years older than her, and whenever someone picked on her at school, I was always the one who stood up for her.

The day my dad died, he held my hand and made me promise to take care of Caroline. I gave him my word.

My mom passed away a few years later. The only thing my parents left me was the family home.

When Caroline got accepted into a university overseas, she needed 160,000 to cover her expenses. She asked every relative we had for help, but no one was willing to lend her the money.

So I sold the house without telling my wife, Stella Knight. I got 160,000 for it and gave Caroline every penny.

On the day I drove her to the airport, she told me she wanted to take out another loan as a financial safety net while she was abroad. The bank wouldn't approve it unless a family member agreed to guarantee it.

So I signed.

I vaguely remembered the loan officer mentioning something about a continuing guarantee. I didn't understand what it meant, and I didn't bother reading the fine print.

Caroline threw her arms around me and buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing so hard her whole body shook.

"Gavin, when I come back, I promise I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

I patted her back and reminded her to call me when she landed.

For five years, I held on to that promise.

It wasn't until today, when I stood outside her office, that I fully understood what I had done. I had spent five years guaranteeing a loan without knowing how much more debt Caroline had taken on.

The original guarantee agreement was still sitting in my drawer. Caroline probably assumed I had forgotten all about it.