A credit card had been opened under Naomi’s name.
Balance: $14,700.
She stared at it.
“I never applied for that.”
That was the moment this stopped being a family argument.
It was fraud.
I leaned toward her.
“Listen to me carefully. Tomorrow morning, I’m going to act like I believe everything they told me.”
Naomi looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because greedy people behave differently when they think more money is coming.”
I took her hand.
“And I want them comfortable enough to show me everything.”
PART 3
For the next five days, I played the role of the grateful son.
It disgusted me.
I let Mom talk about remodeling the garage.
I let Kendra show me photos of vacation homes in Florida.
I even told them the military payment could arrive within two weeks.
That made them reckless.
Mom began leaving financial documents on the kitchen counter.
Kendra discussed purchases openly.
