All Chapters of Before the Knock: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

It was my nephew's birthday; he was the son of my husband's younger brother, Jim. My mother-in-law, Darcy Baker, had thrown a huge bash at the old family homestead, with around 200 guests in attendance.By the time 2:00 p.m. rolled around, the crowd had thinned, and Darcy insisted we stick around for dinner.I was expecting nothing fancier than a casual family supper.However, Darcy came out from the back room, clutching a brown paper bag. "Shirley, come over here."She handed me the bag.Inside was a contract, pages upon pages of fine print."Jim's business needs a little boost, so I got a friend to spot him some cash. Just need your signature."I turned to the first page, and there it was in bold.[Real Estate Mortgage Loan Contract.]My home address was listed as collateral.The loan amount was 150,000 dollars."Mom, this is 150,000 dollars.""I'm aware," Darcy said with a nod. "Jim's got money tied up right now. If we don't sort this out, the whole thing could tank. Jus

I was rooted to the spot.The man spotted me and came over."Ms. Jones?""Who...who are you?""Your creditor sent us." He fished out a document. "Here's the mortgage you signed for 150,000 dollars. It was due last month. Pay up now, and we're gone. If not..."His gaze slid past me to the door. "We'll repossess the house."I took the paper, my eyes scanning it quickly.A mortgage contract.The property: Greenfield Building 8, Unit 2.The loan: 150,000 dollars.My name was on the signature line.However, that scribble? It was not mine."I didn't sign this.""Whether you did or didn't, the notary has the record." He snatched the paper back. "Ms. Jones, you've got three days to get the cash. Otherwise..."His smirk sent a shiver through me."You know what comes next."They turned and left.I just stood there at the door, a whole five minutes passing by.I stepped inside, booted up my computer, and logged into the real estate registry's website. With a few keystrokes, I en

The call from Linda came on the third day."Shirley, I've got something.""Tell me.""There were two loans, each to a different account. The first one, a hefty 150,000 dollars, landed in an account ending in 6639, owned by Jim Canfield. The second, 75,000, went to an account ending in 8821, owned by Nevaeh Lewis."Jim Canfield was my husband's brother.Nevaeh Lewis was his wife.Linda went on, saying, "And there's more. I had someone check the registration surveillance. Both times, it was the same duo, a middle-aged woman and a younger one. The younger one did all the signing.""What did this young woman look like?" I asked."The video wasn't the best quality, but I caught a telling detail: she has a mole on her right collarbone."The right collarbone.Nevaeh.She had that distinctive mole. I remembered seeing it at a summer party when she wore a one-shoulder dress."Shirley, this reeks of signature forgery and outright fraud," Linda said. "Your mother-in-law and sister-in-

"What do you mean by that?""I did some digging into your family's property records. Your sister-in-law, Janet Canfield? Her place is mortgaged too. The amount's 90,000 dollars, and the loan's still in Jim's name."Janet Canfield.Howard's sister.Her place was on the line, too?"Is she aware of this?""I doubt it. The loan hasn't gone into default yet, so nobody's come knocking.""When did this all go down?" I asked."Last October. It's before the two loans against your place."I shut my eyes tight.There was the initial 225,000 dollars, plus another 90,000.That was 315,000 dollars.There was also Howard's 12,000 dollars.We were talking about 327,000 dollars.Darcy and Jim had bled this family dry to the tune of 327,000 dollars."Shirley, you should really get in touch with Janet. If she files a report, too, it's a whole different ballgame.""Got it. Thanks, Linda."I ended the call and pulled up Janet's contact on my phone.[Hey, Janet. Got a sec?]Three minutes

The line went quiet for a beat. "Got it, I understand."I hung up and gazed out at the sky.'My dear mother-in-law, do you think I'm too cruel?'Did you spare a thought for me when you laid hands on my house?'Did you consider my side of the story when you bad-mouthed me in our group chat?'You threatened me once, saying you'd make Howard leave me. Did you ever imagine it would come to this?'I was not heartless.I was just done putting up with it.…A month later, the courtroom buzzed to life.I sat among the spectators, eyes fixed on Darcy in the defendant's dock. She was a shadow of her former self: gaunt, with hair streaked with gray, the jailhouse garb aging her a decade. Her gaze met mine, bitter and accusing.The judge's gavel struck. "We'll now begin."The prosecutor laid out the case."Darcy Baker, by exploiting family ties, acquired property and identity documents, conspired with Nevaeh Lewis to forge signatures, and fraudulently obtained mortgage loans totaling