“Maya, please!” My mother’s regal posture collapsed. Her designer handbag hit the floor. She actually reached out, her manicured fingers trembling toward my sleeve.

“Don’t do this. We’ll leave. We won’t ask for the forty thousand. We’ll pay the liens ourselves. We’ll find a way. Just don’t send it.”

“The forty thousand wouldn’t have saved you anyway,” I said, looking down at her. “Ethan’s files show the total in fraudulent loans and unpaid liabilities you’ve piled onto my identity over eight years exceeds seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Bank fraud. Wire fraud. Aggravated identity theft. Grand larceny.” I paused. “It’s a federal indictment, Mother.”

Julian let out a ragged breath and sank against the wall, dropping his head into his hands. “We’re ruined. We’re completely ruined.”

“You ruined yourselves,” I said. “You just used my name to cover the tracks.”