His response arrived within hours.
Dad, are you seriously asking your own son to repay you now?
I replied:
I’m asking you to honor the agreement you signed.
A few minutes later, Vanessa called.
She sounded furious.
“You can’t threaten our home!”
“I haven’t threatened anything, Vanessa. Daniel received a notice about overdue loan payments.”
“You know he can’t afford that right now!”
“Then we need an honest conversation about his finances.”
“This house was supposed to be part of his inheritance!”
I paused.
“No, Vanessa. The $500,000 was a documented loan.”
She raised her voice.
“That’s unbelievably selfish!”
I ended the call.
Three days later, Vanessa’s aunt Patricia visited our home.
She’d been among the guests who walked out of the housewarming dinner.
“Robert, I think there’s something you should know.”
She placed several printed messages on our dining table.
They were conversations in which Vanessa had discussed the money Daniel borrowed from me.
