Chapter 6 - THE CONFESSION OF TOBIAS
By Tuesday morning, my studio apartment in downtown Raleigh felt entirely transformed.
My father was sitting comfortably in my leather armchair, sipping tea while watching a history documentary on my television. His tremor was noticeably quieter than it had been at my parents' house. For the first time in months, he looked relaxed.
At 10:00 AM, my door buzzer chimed.
I checked the intercom camera.
It was Tobias.
He was standing in the hallway wearing a rumpled suit, holding a manila folder, looking like a man who hadn't slept in forty-eight hours.
I stepped out into the hallway, shutting my apartment door behind me so my father wouldn't be disturbed.
"What are you doing here, Tobias?" I asked, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed.
Tobias looked at me, his arrogance entirely gone. He looked exhausted, broken, and terrified.
"Patty," he swallowed hard, his voice hoarse. "I need to talk to you. Alone. Before Thursday's hearing."
"If you're here to ask me to drop the restraining order, you're wasting your time," I said flatly.
"I'm not here to ask you to drop it," Tobias said, holding up the manila folder. "I'm here to give you everything."
I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"
"Because Bridget and your mother are planning to throw me to the wolves," Tobias whispered, leaning closer, his eyes darting around the hallway. "I heard them talking last night. Your mother’s defense lawyer told her that if she claims I masterminded the land transfer and forced your father to sign, she might escape criminal charges."
I scoffed. "She forged his signature with Bridget’s assistant, Tobias. You were all in on it."
"I was in debt, Patty!" Tobias choked out, his eyes filling with desperate tears. "My commercial real estate firm was thirty days away from foreclosure. I owed six hundred thousand dollars to private lenders who were threatening to seize my house! Your mother came to me in August! She said, 'Constance left land that is just sitting there. We can use it to secure a loan, save your business, and pay it back before anyone notices!'"
"And you believed her?"
"She had the original land titles!" Tobias cried out softly. "She told me you didn't care about the estate! She said you were single, had no family to support, and didn't need the money! She said Bridget and the twins deserved it more!"
I stared at him, feeling a deep, bitter chill settle over my heart.
She said you didn't need it.
My mother had decided my worth based on whether I had a husband and children. Because I was independent, my life, my future, and my inheritance were deemed disposable.
"What’s in the folder, Tobias?" I asked quietly.
Tobias opened the folder and handed me a stack of printed emails and recorded text messages.
"These are every email, text message, and wire transfer instruction between your mother, Bridget, and Karen Miller from August 20th to last Friday," Tobias said. "It proves your mother initiated the scheme. It proves Bridget instructed Karen to notarize the forged signature. And it proves they knew your father lacked mental capacity."
I looked through the pages.
One text message from my mother to Bridget from September 12th read: Stanley signed where I pointed. He thought it was a lottery ticket. Karen can stamp it tomorrow morning.
My stomach churned with nausea.
"Why are you giving me this?" I asked, looking up at Tobias.
"Because I have two five-year-old kids, Patty," Tobias wept softly. "If I go to federal prison, my kids have nothing. My lawyer told me that if I cooperate fully with your attorney and turned over state's evidence before Thursday, the District Attorney might grant me a deferred prosecution agreement."
I looked at the documents in my hands, then at Tobias.
"Give these to Arthur Vance," I said. "He’s at his office on Fayetteville Street right now. Walk down there, hand them over, and make a formal statement."
Tobias nodded frantically. "Thank you, Patty. God, I'm so sorry... for everything. For the way we treated you. For dinner on Sunday."
"Don't apologize to me, Tobias," I said coldly, pointing toward my apartment door. "Apologize to the man sitting in that chair whose life you almost ruined."
Tobias looked at the closed door, bowed his head in shame, turned around, and walked quickly toward the elevator.
May you like
I stood in the quiet hallway, holding the evidence that would seal my mother and sister’s fate.
The truth was out. And there was no turning back now.
