Maggie pulled back and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. «You have the truth. And the truth is powerful.»
Over the next three weeks, Maggie worked like she was possessed. She became my lawyer officially, taking my case without charging me a penny.
«You’ll pay me back someday when you’re back on your feet,» she said. «Right now we have work to do.»
She requested my bank records from the past eight years. Every single statement. Every deposit. Every withdrawal.
She got our apartment lease agreements, all five of them from our different places, each one signed only by me because Brandon’s credit was terrible from student loans. She tracked down receipts I’d saved in boxes: textbooks, medical equipment, supplies, all purchased by me.
Then she found something I’d almost forgotten about.
«Grace,» she said one evening, sitting across from me at my kitchen table with her laptop open. «Do you remember Brandon’s third year of medical school? When his tuition was due and his student loan didn’t come through in time?»
I nodded slowly. That had been a terrible month. Brandon was panicking, about to lose his spot in the program.
«You took out a personal loan,» Maggie said. «$45,000 in your name only. You gave it all to Brandon for tuition and expenses. Do you still have the paperwork?»
My heart started beating faster. «I think so. In the storage closet, maybe?»
We tore through boxes until we found it. A personal loan agreement from First National Bank in my name. And beneath it, another document. A promissory note Brandon had signed, acknowledging the loan and promising to repay me once he finished his residency and got a job. Maggie held up the paper, her eyes gleaming.
«He forgot about this, didn’t he?»
«I think so. That was four years ago. Once he got his hospital job, he never mentioned it.»
«Because he forgot. But legally, this document is gold, Grace. This proves direct financial investment in his education. This changes everything.»
Over the next week, Maggie built our case like she was constructing a building. Piece by piece. The loan documents.
My bank statements showing I paid 100% of our living expenses for six years, while Brandon contributed nothing. Testimony from our old landlords and neighbours who remembered me working constantly. Text messages from years ago where Brandon thanked me for my sacrifices and promised to make it right.