Chapter 5
Anna's smile faded. "I never thought you'd hand over my files to your family."
Michael opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally gave her the bank's name.
Anna called the bank's customer service right in front of him, explained that her identity might have been stolen, and asked them to flag her account as high-risk immediately.
After the customer service rep took down her information, they told her she'd have to go to a branch in person to check the authorization records.
Michael's face grew darker and darker. "Do you have to be this ruthless?"
"If everything's above board, checking won't hurt anyone," Anna replied. "If it's not, then whatever happens isn't on me."
With that, she turned and walked away.
*****
Half an hour later, Anna arrived at the bank.
The account manager led her into a private room, checked her driving licence, and then pulled up the loan renewal file for Hayes Hardware.
"You are indeed listed as a secondary repayment source," the manager said.
"What's the basis for that?" Anna asked.
The manager swiveled the screen so Anna could see.
On the screen was a statement of family assets, listing their shared property, family savings, and the annual income from her former company.
Attached below was a spousal consent form.
Anna read through the document line by line, her gaze lingering at the bottom.
The signature on the consent form was nearly identical to her handwriting.
The manager asked softly, "Ms. Thompson, didn't you sign this document?"
Anna pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of the page. "No."
The manager's expression turned serious. "I'm afraid this is more serious than missing paperwork."
Just then, Anna's phone rang. It was the real estate agent. "Ms. Thompson, your house can't be listed for now. The system shows there's a pending pre-registration for a mortgage on the property."
Anna gripped her phone, silent for a long moment.
She thought, 'Our joint property still has an outstanding mortgage, and without my consent, there is no way another mortgage can go through.
'But pre-registration means someone has already started the process with the bank.'
"Who's the applicant?" Anna asked.
The agent spoke in a hushed tone. "The borrower is a building materials business, and Michael is listed as the guarantor.
"There's also a joint owner consent form included in the paperwork, so that's why there's a record in the system.
"Right now, it's a pre-registration. The mortgage hasn't been officially set up yet.
"If you didn't know about this, you need to go to the County Recorder's Office and file a lien as soon as possible."
Anna thanked the agent and ended the call, her mind racing with worry.
The manager's expression shifted, looking worried. "The pre-registration wasn't submitted by our branch."
"Has Hayes Hardware applied for loans at other banks?" Anna asked.
"The system only shows a risk warning. The borrower would have to clarify the specifics."
Anna slipped the copy of the spousal consent form into her bag. "Please pause any processing with my personal info. And can I have a form to request my records?"
The manager nodded. "We'll escalate this to the compliance team. If that signature isn't yours, we may need to do a forensic handwriting check."
*****
After filling out the form, Anna made her way to the County Recorder's Office.
Once the staff checked her info, they explained that the mortgage application had only been submitted two days ago and was still waiting for some paperwork.
What they were missing was the joint owner's confirmation in person.
So unless Anna showed up herself, the mortgage couldn't go through.
Anna submitted an objection statement and asked them to freeze any online processing related to her property.
*****
By the time she walked out of the building, it was almost noon.
She got into her car and called Michael. "Who did the pre-registration for the mortgage on the house?"
There was a long silence on the other end. "My dad probably went through a loan broker."
"You're the guarantor. How could you not know?"
"I signed a guarantor form."
"And the house?"
"They said it was for a valuation, not actually putting it up as collateral."
Anna closed her eyes for a moment.
She thought, 'Michael wasn't clueless. He kept kicking the can down the road whenever his parents needed something.
'He always figures there is a way to fix things, and that I would be the one to bail him out in the end.'
"Whose signature is on the spousal consent form at the bank?" Anna asked.
"What consent form?" Michael replied.
"The one with my name on it."
Michael's breath caught. "I never signed your name."
"Then send me your dad's and the loan broker's contact info."
"Don't call the cops yet."
Anna thought, 'That one sentence says it all.'
Anna's voice turned cold. "You knew someone was forging my signature."
"I saw a scanned copy once," Michael said. "I asked my dad about it, and he told me the broker made a sample form and wouldn't actually submit it."
"So you decided to keep it from me."
"The store can't hold on anymore."