Chapter 7 - THEY HAD ACCESS TO HIS MILITARY ACCOUNTThe phrase “military account” turned out to be less dramatic than Lily feared and more dangerous than Mason expected.
Brent had not hacked classified systems.
He had access to Mason’s family administrative information because Mason had authorized him months earlier to help with emergency household paperwork while Mason was deployed.
Contact mailing address.
Insurance correspondence.
Family service portals.
Household billing accounts.
Nothing that should have allowed ownership changes.
But enough information to impersonate legitimacy elsewhere.
Brent knew:
Mason’s deployment dates.
Unit mailing address.
Emergency contact structure.
Signature samples.
Insurance details.
Mortgage provider.
Family schedule.
He used that knowledge to make forged paperwork look plausible.
Rebecca spread documents on dining table.
“Look.”
Power of attorney.
Property mailing change.
Insurance beneficiary inquiry—not actual completed beneficiary change, thankfully.
Request to add Brent as authorized household contact.
A letter to bank stating Mason temporarily unavailable.
Some real.
Some altered.
Some forged.
The dangerous part was mixture.
One authentic letter made fake ones more believable.
Mason stared.
“I trusted him.”
Rebecca:
“Yes.”
No sugarcoating.
“He used it.”
Lily asked:
“Could he have taken life insurance?”
Rebecca shook head.
“Not based on what we see.”
“Beneficiary remained Lily.”
Mason exhaled.
“But he tried?”
“There was an inquiry.”
“Not completed.”
Mason looked at Brent’s signature on request.
This was bigger than convenience.
Why ask about insurance?
Rebecca cautioned:
“Could claim estate planning.”
“Do not jump.”
Mason nodded.
Then attorney found home equity application.
Not completed.
Using power of attorney.
Amount requested:
$350,000.
Mason’s face changed.
“They tried to borrow against house.”
“Application rejected because lender required direct verification.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“Did lender call me?”
“Maybe voicemail.”
Mason searched.
Unknown bank number.
He ignored thinking spam.
Again.
Small ordinary missed call.
Lily whispered:
“They told me mortgage was behind.”
It wasn’t.
Brent had lied.
Why?
To justify controlling money.
Maybe pressure Lily sell valuables.
Then bank records showed transfers to B&R Property Services.
Company registered to Brent.
Home repairs.
$4,800.
$7,200.
$11,500.
No corresponding work.
Mason had asked Brent to repair roof one time.
That invoice legitimate.
Then duplicates.
Brent realized company payments were easy.
Mason’s trust became revenue.
Investigators traced more.
Nicole’s boutique credit card paid from household account twice “by mistake.”
Reimbursed once.
Not second.
Small theft.
Then bigger.
Cash withdrawals.
Mason asked Lily:
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Brent said money was all tied up.”
“He gave me grocery allowance.”
Mason’s face hardened.
“My wife got allowance from my brother.”
Lily whispered:
“From our own money.”
Yes.
Humiliation.
Then Rebecca found draft document:
TEMPORARY CUSTODIAL CONSENT
Supposedly Mason authorized Brent and Nicole to care for Emma if Lily became “unable to provide stable environment.”
Signature blank.
Not completed.
Lily went pale.
“That’s what they were waiting for.”
“What?”
“If I broke down.”
Mason looked.
Brent had been collecting videos of Lily yelling.
Messages saying overwhelmed.
Marks? Perhaps to imply self-harm? No.
He needed narrative.
If Lily looked unstable, Brent could seek control of Emma and house during Mason absence.
Maybe not legally easy.
But he believed enough to try.
Rebecca:
“Courts require more than this.”
Lily laughed bitterly.
“Didn’t stop him.”
No.
Abusers don’t need legal certainty.
They need victims to believe they have it.
Mason’s military absence added psychological weight.
Brent could say:
Mason unavailable.
Lily unstable.
We are responsible relatives.
Perfect.
Then Rebecca’s phone buzzed.
Document examiner preliminary result.
The power-of-attorney signature was highly inconsistent with Mason’s known signatures and likely simulated from a prior document.
Mason stared.
Forgery becoming provable.
Not just family dispute.
He asked:
“What happens now?”
Rebecca:
“Police and prosecutors decide.”
Mason wanted more immediate.
But law.
Then Lily spoke:
“Brent told me something once.”
“What?”
“He said if you died overseas, everything would finally be simple.”
The room went silent.
Mason looked.
“When?”
“After we argued about the house.”
“Exactly words?”
“Yes.”
Rebecca wrote.
Mason did not let mind race into murder plots.
No evidence Brent wanted Mason harmed physically.
But phrase revealed desire.
A world without Mason was easier for Brent.
Why?
Because then no one could come home and ask questions.
May you like
Except Mason had.
And Scout had dragged him straight to the part Brent never expected him to see.
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