—
“Three years ago,” I said, “my parents almost lost the house.”
—
He raised an eyebrow.
“Debt?”
—
“No.”
I shook my head.
“They suddenly… paid everything off.”
—
“How suddenly?”
—
“Within a week.”
—
Now he leaned forward.
Interested.
—
“And their income?”
—
“Didn’t change.”
—
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Calculating.
—
“People don’t erase debt overnight without a reason,” he said.
—
“Exactly.”
—
I reached into my pocket.
Pulled out my phone.
Opened an old photo.
—
It was blurry.
Taken by accident.
Or maybe… not.
—
I slid it across the desk.
—
His eyes narrowed.
—
“Is that… a safe?”
—
I nodded.
—
“In the garage,” I said.
“The one they told everyone was broken.”
