Read Online Final Deposit by Lisa Harris - Free Book Online

airline ticket. Michael was making pretty good money as a graphic designer so he agreed.”
    He noticed that Lindsey seemed to have forgotten her breakfast as she listened to him intently.
    â€œAnya was due to arrive the day before Thanksgiving. I remember being genuinely happy that my brother had found someone. My mom went to so much trouble preparing all of Michael’s favorite holiday dishes in honor of Anya’s arrival. Yeast rolls, pecan pie and sweet-potato casserole. Michael had loved the holidays, and all the lights, music and food that went along with them. Dad even pulled out the Christmas decorations so we could decorate the house on the weekend. None of us had a clue what was about to happen.”
    â€œShe didn’t show up, did she,” Lindsey said.
    He shook his head. “Michael got a desperate e-mail saying that there had been an emergency. Her mother had fallen ill and had been rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. Anya had no insurance and no money, and she needed twenty thousand dollars for an operation. Without the surgery her mother would be dead in a matter of days.
    â€œMichael still lived at home and had saved quite a bit. I don’t think he ever questioned whether everything she was telling him was legitimate. For him there was no other option. He loved her. He trusted her. Of course she was telling the truth.”
    By now their eggs were cold, but he didn’t care. Dredging up these memories had doused his appetite.
    â€œI remember asking Michael at one point how well he really knew her. But he wouldn’t listen. He had photos. They’d chatted for hours online. He planned to marry her. How could I even suggest not helping her family? I backed off.”
    Guilt resurfaced. What would have happened if he’d done a background check on the woman? But he hadn’t. Even after he began to suspect that Anya cared more about the Western Union deposits than his brother.
    â€œMichael ended up wiring over forty-five thousand dollars to the woman over the course of six months for hospital bills and physical therapy. Anya promised that as soon as her mother recovered, she’d come to America so they could be together. None of us knew what my brother had done until it was too late. His savings were wiped out, his credit cards were at their limit and he’d borrowed five thousand from a friend.”
    â€œAnd when the money ran out?”
    â€œHe never heard from her again.” Kyle fought against anger that would never completely dissipate. Anger toward Anya, his brother’s trusting nature and of course at himself for not recognizing just how deep Michael’s depression had gone. “He overdosed on a bottle of prescription drugs. When we found him we rushed to the emergency room, but by then it was too late.”
    Lindsey reached out and squeezed his hand. “I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”
    He stood up to reheat their eggs in the microwave. “I started doing research online and couldn’t believe what I found. The statistics are terrifying and the scams endless. I discovered lottery scams, phishing and vishing scams, pump and dump scams. The truth is, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
    â€œDid the authorities ever find her?”
    â€œShe was just a faceless identity hiding behind a computer screen. We found a place to blacklist her name, but it’s far too easy to come up with another identity before hitting up the next victim.”
    Lindsey’s face paled. “Is it possible that we might never find the person who did this to my father?”
    â€œWe can notify the authorities but more than likely, they won’t be able to do anything. It’s extremely hard to track these criminals, even with good records and a lot of luck.”
    She took the reheated eggs from him. “There has to be a way.”
    â€œI do have a few tricks up my sleeve.