16 Dropping the Bomb
Thankfully, I didn’t have high expectations from them anyways and so I wasn’t really disappointed. Avoiding their gazes, I sat down on the sofa while I waited for Lawrence to arrive.
“So? What really happened?” my mother asked.
“I don’t know either, mum. Our lawyer is on the way. You remember Lawrence, right? He’ll be here in less than half an hour. So please, save whatever questions that you may have for him...” I said emotionlessly.
I felt cold and lost inside. If I could choose, I would choose to simply disintegrate and disappear from here. Their questions made me feel sick. Their lack of sympathy or feelings made me feel disgusted. It was obvious that all they were worried about was how much money I would walk away with from George’s death.
...
Lawrence was true to his word and arrived before the half hour mark. After politely reintroducing himself to my parents, he got down to business immediately. For his line of work, I knew that time was money. George paid Lawrence a lot and they’ve worked together for a long time. If someone knew the truth about George and his business, then it was Lawrence.
“Let me start out by explaining the current situation to all of you so that we are aligned. Then we can decide on how to proceed further,” Lawrence said, getting right to the point.
“Ok...” I mumbled softly.
“Mr. Westford has been having financial difficulties for the past year or so. As a result of poor financial performance in the hedge funds that he manages along with investments in real estate, he started misinforming his investors and committed some fraudulent activities. The investors have sued for compensation while the banks are also suing to get the money that they loaned to him back. The court has ruled recently that Mr. Westford has to pay back quite a large sum of money...” Lawrence explained grimly.
.....
“How much? George has a lot of money so...” my mother jumped in immediately.
“Well, he did have a lot of money but in the past year due his spending...” Lawrence replied.
“You mean his compulsive gambling...not his spending...” I quickly corrected.
“Yes, that too. Let me skip to the end result. At his death, Mr. Westford’s wealth is in the negative zone. In other words, even after accounting for his assets and all sources of wealth, Mr. Westford is around 700 million dollars in debt,” Lawrence concluded.
700 million dollars in debt...
“What?! Are you being serious?” I cried out in shock. Did I hear that right?
George is in that much debt even after taking into account all of his assets. Impossible. George has so many assets. Land, buildings, jets, gold, diamonds, and everything else.
“Yes, Madame. I regret to inform you that because of his gambling, he’s been selling off his assets for a while now to fund his adventures. There isn’t much left at the time of his death and when we take into account his debt, we land at around 700 million dollars without a doubt,” Lawrence reconfirmed the worse.
“Impossible...this cannot be happening to us!” my mother yelled loudly before she burst into tears.
I was too shocked to react to my mother’s outburst. My entire face felt numb, and the numbness was slowly spreading to the rest of my body. Am I about to faint?
“So that bastard killed himself to escape his debt?” my father asked in shock.
“I cannot comment on that, sir,” Lawrence replied professionally.
“What happens to the debt now that George is dead?” my father asked as his eyes narrowed suspiciously at the lawyer.
Good question. If George is dead, then...
“I regret to inform you this but since Mr. Westford has passed away, his debt burden will be directly transfer to his living wife. Madame, that is you...” Lawrence said as he looked pointedly at me.
“Me? I have to repay the debt in his place? That’s crazy...” I said in disbelief.
“Wait. If his assets cannot cover it, then it’s too bad for the banks and investors. They just won’t get their money back; it should have nothing to do with my daughter...” my father countered.
“That would normally be the case, Sir. However, in this case, it isn’t purely Mr. Westford’s debt,” Lawrence replied readily.
“What do you mean?” I asked, not quite following.
“Madame, you co-signed the documents to take on the debt along with your late husband. The debt is a shared one and now that he is gone, you are the one solely responsible for paying it back,” Lawrence explained professionally and bluntly.
“But I didn’t...” I started denying but then I had to stop mid-sentence.
“I think you may recall signing these documents. I don’t think your signature was forged here...” Lawrence said regretfully as he placed some documents onto the coffee table in between us.
My heart felt like it was going to stop beating as I recalled the many times when George came back home late at night. He asked me to sign some documents for him before I went to bed. He told me that they were necessary for him to invest in something with good return. He said that because we were married, I had to sign it too. I was so sleepy, and I signed it without question and without reading any of the documents. He was my husband and I just trusted him completely. George was also smart and respectable in the investment field and so I never suspected anything at all.
“So now I’m 700 million in debt?” I asked, incredulously.
“I’m afraid so, Madame. I can try to negotiate with the investors and the banks in court, but I doubt the figure is going to change much,” the lawyer explained before pursing his lips tightly together.
“This is insane! This is not true. It can’t be! You’re tricking us!” my mother shouted loudly as she jumped out of her seat.
“Calm down please...” my father said sternly.
“My daughter was supposed to get all of her husband’s money. He’s filthy rich so how can this happen?!” my mother wailed like a mad woman as tears rolled down her red face.
–To be continued...
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