All Chapters of A Debt Never Owed: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"What debt?" Roger Kemp held his teacup and looked at me blankly.I thought he had not heard me, so I repeated myself, "The money my parents owed you. The payment I've been sending to your account every month."He set his cup down, and his brows furrowed even deeper. "Josie, your parents never owed me any money."I froze for a moment, then took out my phone and held it up in front of him. "It's this one. It goes out on the 15th of every month. Haven't you been getting it?"He leaned in for a look, and his expression turned grave. "Josie, this isn't my account. There was a debt between your parents and me, but I was the one who owed them, and I paid it all back before they passed."There had never been any debt? Then where had all the money I sent over the years gone?My whole body went rigid as a chill shot up my spine and spread through me. I clenched my hands until my knuckles turned white, and my voice came out as though I had to force it from my throat, trembling no matter ho

I had thought that if I kept paying it off little by little, I would clear it eventually. I never imagined the truth would turn out like this.The lawyer slid the report toward me. "The house only proves that your aunt forged the signature. It doesn't directly prove she defrauded you."The hard part about calling this a fraud is that the money you've been sending doesn't go to her, and she and Ronald Hatch are divorced. You'll need evidence that they're still living as husband and wife or that she's the one actually controlling his account."I remembered an old phone number Uncle Ronald used to have and tried searching it on social media. An account came up, and strangers could see his ten most recent posts. I tapped in and scrolled through a few.There were photos of the three of them together as a family, pictures from trips they had taken, and lively gatherings every holiday. The traces of their shared life were all right there.Maybe they had never divorced at all.My heart p

I held up my phone. On the screen was a photo of the sales contract Mom had supposedly signed back then."This is the sales contract for my parents' house."Aunt Marlene's expression changed."I went back and looked into it. The house was sold on July 16, 2008. My parents had their accident on June 30." My voice wavered a little at that point, but I held it together. In other words, half a month after my parents died, someone pretended to be Mom, signed her name, and sold the house."The table fell completely silent. It was so quiet that even a fork set down on a plate would have sounded loud.Aunt Marlene's face slowly drained of color. "Josie, what are you talking about?""I had a handwriting expert examine the contract. The signature isn't Mom's." I turned my phone toward the relatives. "Someone forged it."Mom's older brother, Uncle Clyde, leaned in for a look, and his brow furrowed. Mom's sister Aunt Rhonda's expression soured as well.Dad's sister-in-law, Aunt Beverly, mu

The stairwell was completely silent except for the sound of my own footsteps.When I got downstairs, a cold wind swept down my collar, and I shivered. Only then did I realize I had broken out in a cold sweat.My phone buzzed. It was a message from my lawyer: [Did they take her in?]I replied: [Yes.][Don't worry. The chain of evidence is pretty much complete. Come by the office tomorrow morning, and we'll go over the next steps.]I leaned against a lamppost by the side of the road and looked up at the sky. It was a dull gray, without a single star in sight. The streetlight stretched my shadow out long and thin.I stood there for so long that my legs went numb. Then I opened my contacts, found a name, and hit 'call'.It rang three times before she picked up. "Jo? What's up?"It was Kate Delmore, my college roommate."Nothing. I just wanted someone to talk to."The line went quiet for a moment. "Where are you?""Back in my hometown.""Have you been crying?"I reached up to t

"Wade's different. He's a man. He has to settle down, build a career, and buy a house and a car!""So what? That means I'm supposed to pay off his debts for him? For the rest of his life?"Aunt Marlene buried her face in her hands, her shoulders heaving. "Your parents died young. I'm your aunt, so I had a responsibility to take care of you... but Wade is my own son. I can't just turn my back on him—""So you take care of him by scamming me?""I didn't scam you!" Her head snapped up, her eyes bloodshot. "Those debts... Those debts were real—""What debts?""The ones your parents owed me!"She practically screamed it, and the whole room seemed to shake.I stared at her."Do you know how much I helped your parents when they were alive? When your dad's business was short on money, I secretly took our family's savings and gave it to him. When your Uncle Ronald found out, we had a huge fight and nearly got divorced."Her voice grew louder, and her words came faster, as if things sh