“You said Audrey was trying to destroy you and you needed enough money to start over.”
“Be quiet.”
“You said she had agreed to sign.”
“I said be quiet.”
Officer Bell moved closer to Marcus.
Dana asked Lila to surrender the key and anything else belonging to me.
Lila placed the brass key beside the earrings, then removed my cream cardigan.
She folded it with trembling hands and laid it across the back of the chair.
Marcus watched her as though she had committed the betrayal.
Dana turned to me.
“Ms.
Vail, did you authorize any transfer, refinance, appraisal, or interior inspection of this property?”
“No.”
“Did you sign this document?”
“No.”
“Did you give your husband permission to use your identity or property as security for a loan?”
“No.”
Each answer felt like a door locking.
Marcus began pacing.
“We’re married,” he said.
“Couples sign for each other all the time.
Audrey was going to agree.
I was solving a temporary cash problem.”
Dana looked at him.
“The application requests $1.8 million against a property you do not own.
It lists you as sole managing beneficiary of a trust that does not exist.
It contains your wife’s forged signature and a dead notary’s seal.
That is not a temporary cash problem.”
The amount stunned me.
Marcus had told me his consulting business was thriving.
He bought expensive watches, paid for private clubs, and lectured me about diversifying my investments.
I had never asked him for money.
Our prenuptial agreement kept our companies and premarital property separate, and we contributed equally to household expenses.
At least, I had believed we did.
“Why $1.8 million?” I asked.
Marcus looked away.
Dana opened the sealed evidence envelope.
Inside were copies of bank statements, wire instructions, and emails.
“The proposed loan proceeds were scheduled to move through three accounts,” she said.
“One belongs to Mr.
Ellison’s company.
One belongs to a holding entity registered six weeks ago.
The third is an overseas account.”
Elena, still listening through the phone, asked Dana to read the holding company’s name.
“Larkspur Living LLC.”
Lila gripped the table.
“That’s mine.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Marcus created it for me,” she said.
“He said we were going to buy and renovate houses.
He told me it was a gift, a way for me to build something of my own.”
Dana studied her.
“Did you sign the formation documents?”
“Yes, but I never saw any loan paperwork.”
“You may need independent counsel.”
