The envelope was lying on the table among the other correspondence, white and crisp, with the blue Fairview National Bank logo printed in the corner. I did not notice it right away. I was busy sorting through utility bills, grocery coupons, and the usual glossy advertisements for credit cards I would never apply for.
Only after finishing my second cup of coffee did I pick up the envelope and turn it over in my hands. Strange. I had not done any business with Fairview National.
Opening the letter, I ran my eyes over the first few lines and felt a chill slide down my spine. Dear Mrs. Toiver,
You are reminded of your late monthly mortgage payment.
What followed was an amount that made me dizzy. $7,243.80. “What the hell is this?” I muttered, continuing to read.
The letter said I was behind on my second monthly payment on a $950,000 mortgage loan made in March. If I did not pay the arrears within two weeks, the bank would be forced to begin foreclosure proceedings. My first thought was to call the bank and explain that there had been a mistake.
I had never taken out a loan for such an astronomical amount. My little house on Elm Street, purchased with Harold thirty-two years ago, had long since been paid off. Why would I, a sixty-seven-year-old widow, take out a new loan?
I dialed the Fairview National number listed in the letter. After a long wait on the line, I finally heard the operator’s voice. “Hi, this is Winifred Toiver.
I received a letter about a late payment on a loan, but there’s some mistake. I didn’t take out any loan from your bank.”
“Just a moment, Mrs. Toiver.
I’ll check the information,” the girl replied politely. While she studied the data, I looked out of the kitchen window at my small but well-kept garden. Harold had died ten years ago, and since then, I had lived alone in the house, gradually adjusting to the life of a widow.
Forty-three years together. And then nothing. No, not quite empty.
I had children, Harper and Lennox, but they had long since gone on with their own lives, not often thinking of their mother. “Mrs. Toiver?”
The operator’s voice brought me back to reality.
“According to our records, on March 14 of this year, you took out a mortgage loan in the amount of $950,000 for a period of thirty years. The loan was for the purchase of real estate at 27 Lake View Terrace in Concord.”
What happened next changed everything… continues on the next page.
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