Chapter 2 - Vanessa’s Name Is On Page Four
Michael read the final page twice.
Then he looked at Vanessa.
Rachel stood beside him with one arm around Lily.
“What does it say?” I asked.
Michael turned the document so everyone could see.
At the bottom of the trust audit was a name.
VANESSA REED.
Not as beneficiary.
Not as guardian.
As debtor.
$612,400 outstanding.
Vanessa’s face lost all color.
Derek swore under his breath.
Rachel looked from the page to her sister.
“You owe Lily’s trust six hundred thousand dollars?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“That is not what it means.”
The attorney’s letter explained exactly what it meant.
Three years earlier, the family trust had loaned money to a company called VDR Hospitality Group.
Vanessa and Derek had personally guaranteed the debt.
The company had stopped making payments eleven months ago.
The trust was preparing to enforce the loan.
And Lily was now the sole beneficiary of the trust receiving those assets.
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The custody papers were not about becoming her parents.
They were about getting closer to the money before the trust came after theirs.
