Part 6

Grant admitted forming Foster Residential Holdings and directing the sale proceeds into its account. He admitted hiring Morgan, sending her my coat and passport, and supplying answers for the verification call. He admitted delivering the scanned signature to Malcolm.

Then he tried to make the confession smaller.

He said he believed Alder Street had become marital property because we used joint funds for renovations. He said he intended to reimburse me after refinancing the restaurant. He said the impersonation was a temporary shortcut designed to prevent a valuable deal from collapsing.

Diana asked one question. “Why did you tell the divorce court the house was untouched separate property?”

Grant had no answer that could reconcile those positions.

The evidence showed the restaurant was not facing a temporary cash gap. Grant had personally guaranteed a loan with a payment due four days after the closing. If he missed it, the lender could take his ownership interest. He needed money quickly, but he also needed the divorce finished before I saw the company disclosures. His plan was to replace my house with a vague receivable inside a business I did not know existed.

Paige testified for nearly two hours. She described the verification call, the pressure to avoid my regular contact information, and the deletion request. Her notes were meticulous. Each time Grant had interrupted the woman pretending to be me, Paige had marked the time. The four interruptions matched four facts later found in Grant’s preparation email to Morgan.

Morgan testified next. She did not excuse her decision to participate. She accepted responsibility for appearing on the call and for failing to verify Grant’s story. Her records, however, proved she did not design the sale. She had asked three times when the actual owner would sign. Grant replied that Malcolm had everything he needed.

Malcolm invoked his right not to answer several questions. His silence did not erase the audit log or payment.

The judge voided the deed because I had never authorized it. Bellweather would receive its purchase money from the frozen funds and Meridian’s insurer. My title would be restored without any lien from the failed sale. The judge referred the evidence for further review and ruled that Grant’s conduct could be considered when dividing marital property.

Then came the divorce.

Grant asked the court to treat the restaurant as his separate project and our apartment as equally shared. Diana showed that he had used joint income to cover restaurant losses while concealing its liabilities. The judge assigned those hidden debts to him and awarded me the apartment interest necessary to offset the money that could not immediately be recovered.

Grant looked at me when the final decree was placed on the bench.

“You could have let me fix it,” he said during the recess.

“You had eleven months to stop,” I answered.

That was the last private sentence we exchanged as husband and wife.