Chapter 25 - The Savings
I did not lose the $180,000.
That became the least important victory and somehow one of the most psychologically important.
The money stayed mine.
Months later, I moved part of it into a different account at another institution.
Not because the old bank did anything wrong.
I wanted a clean administrative boundary.
Updated mailing address.
No paper notices to my parents.
New emergency contacts.
No family access.
I also froze my credit temporarily and reviewed reports.
There was no evidence my parents had opened accounts in my name.
Good.
The gift letter was serious enough.
I did not need to discover a larger conspiracy for the story to matter.
Two years later, Aaron and I used some of the savings as a down payment.
On a house smaller than Natalie’s Briar Ridge dream.
Three bedrooms.
Modest yard.
Good school district.
Tyler loved the tree.
Megan loved having a bedroom far enough from ours that she claimed privacy like a constitutional right.
The closing officer asked where our down payment came from.
I almost laughed.
May you like
“Our money.”
Excellent answer.
