The children are placed temporarily with Denise’s sister in Pasadena, which bothers Valeria more than she admits because she is decent enough to feel sorry for innocent people even when they arrived as part of a scam. Your mother and Rick are charged with attempted fraud, conspiracy, unlawful interception of communication, and financial instrument theft enhancements tied to the corporate documents. Denise gets added on forged-document exposure from a prior county complaint once Alicia links her to a second property scheme in Sugar Land.
Your father gets an attorney and pleads cooperation almost immediately.
He tells investigators that your mother met Rick through a “real estate solutions” seminar at a church friend’s recommendation. They needed a house with clean title, an owner away, and original documents accessible. River Oaks was not a random target. Your mother offered it. Then, when Rick realized the house alone could generate a massive fraudulent equity line, he started asking about company seals and operating papers too. The house would have been the first hit, not the last.
Valeria does not move back into the bedroom right away.
For the first week, she chooses the upstairs guest room because she says the master still smells like tension. You don’t argue. Healing on demand is just control in better clothes. Instead you repaint the breakfast room she hated, donate the extra stools your mother made her stand on to reach top shelves, replace the dining chairs, and have the locks on every exterior door changed even though your system already makes the old ones useless.
Small things matter after occupation.
Food matters too.
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