First Flyght – Chapter 3

I should’ve cooled down, done some research, or even spent two more seconds with my parents before charging into the office, but I’m compulsive, and there’s only so much I can take in one day.

Is the money really gone? Did my brother really sell everything?

No. There’s no way.

Denial is not a place I should be if I’m going to fix this now.

“What’s going on here?” I demand as I walk into my mother’s office. It’s strange seeing someone at the desk other than Mom, and I want to rush forward and turn off the console displaying all of our records for some stranger to see.

The woman behind the desk blinks a few times before focusing on me. She’s all buttoned up in a pantsuit, looking like she came from a business lunch with other bank executives. She doesn’t want to be here. She’s just doing her job, right?

Except she’s dismantling my family and my future.

“Ms. Kawabata?” She glances down at her wristlet. “Vivian Kawabata?”

“Yes,” I draw out, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. I’m not succeeding.

She nods once, swipes away records that only she can see in her projection, and shuts it all down. “Please. Have a seat.” She gestures to the chair on the other side of the desk, the one I sit in if Mom is at the desk. I watch in horror as she sits in Mom’s chair.

I don’t move.

She raises her eyebrows. “Fine. Stand. You asked what’s going on here which tells me you’re either well aware of what’s going on or you’re in the dark.”

“I’m… neither.” I’m on the verge of a heart attack because everything I see is red. “I’ve been in school full time for the last six years as well as working on this farm.” I grip the chair with my shaky hand, and this woman jumps up and comes around the desk to me.

She puts her hands on my shoulders. “Please, sit, Ms. Kawabata.” With effort, I lower myself to the chair, and instead of returning to the other side of the desk, she sits next to me. “There. Are you going to be okay? Should I get you some water?”

“No,” I say, sucking in a deep breath. “I’ll be fine.”

The woman sighs, dipping her head. “Let’s start from the beginning, okay? I’m Tatiana Álvares from First Ossun Banking Corporation, and unfortunately, I’m here today to liquidate the majority of your family’s assets.”

I can’t even look her in the eyes. My eyes fill with tears, and I turn my head away.

“As I understand it, your mother gave your older brother, Tomu Kawabata, power of attorney about five months ago so he could handle the family’s company and assets. She trusted him to be honest and keep your family’s business in good standing. But instead of keeping the books, your brother applied for and was granted a mortgage on this land and then he borrowed against the mortgage and didn’t pay for several months in a row. He has now absconded with the money and can’t be found.”

Deep inside, the mild annoyance I had always felt about my brother and his actions turns to blinding, white-hot rage.

Álvares reaches out to place a hand on my arm and stops short, putting it on the chair. She must feel bad for me. We’ve never met before today, and I can’t imagine anyone would want to comfort me unless I look like I’m about to die.

“Today, we’re here to assess the land and seize property that can pay the last few month’s worth of mortgage payments that were skipped.” She sits back and straightens her posture. “It’s nothing personal. We’re just doing our jobs.”

Tomu forced us into bankruptcy. I should’ve seen this coming.

But, I couldn’t see this coming because I had no idea Mom did this. She didn’t tell me, and probably for a good reason. Because I would’ve insisted that this was a bad idea. I know Tomu. I’m the one who’s bailed him out of sticky situations. He always called me when he was in trouble, not anyone else. Why? Because little sister Vivian was stupid and forgiving.

I hate Little Sister Vivian. Little Sister Vivian has got to go.

Tomu never liked Little Sister Vivian, anyway.

I stand up, grab a tissue from Mom’s desk, and clean up my face.

“What happens next? What are my options?”

“You want to save the family land?” She seems surprised.

I gasp. “Yes, of course, I do!” I pull my hand back to my chest. “This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I grew up here. My family has always owned this land. Our ancestors are buried here. I want to have daughters to pass this land on to.” My chest shakes with the passion I have for my home. “I just went to school for six years to learn everything I need to know to run this business and the farm. Yes. Yes, I definitely want to save the family land.”

And as I say those words, I know that Tomu did this on purpose, to hurt me. He always hated that I loved this place, that it was my inheritance, not his. He would love to see me suffer.

“Then you have two options,” she says, standing up and returning to Mom’s side of the desk. She flicks on her wristlet, and I’m pinged with a request to project to my own display. “I’ll have this sent to your inbox as well. But this is the standard operating procedure in these cases. Your family, as the previous landowners, have six standard months or one standard year to buy back the property. It will be up to the bank’s board of directors how long we give you. You will need to buy out the mortgage and any accumulated interest. The longer you wait to buy back the property, the more interest is accrued.”

I scan the document, and it has a running total by month of how much I would owe. I swallow, trying to keep the bile in my stomach. If I wait until the last possible moment and they give me the whole year, I’ll need over five million credits to buy back the land.

Five. Million. Credits.

That’s an insane amount of money when one month of rent in a high-end apartment in Sakata City will cost my parents less than five hundred credits.

“We will continue to run the farm so that nothing stops. When the time is up, and if you haven’t paid the mortgage, we put everything up for auction. Women-only since this is a large land stake and Ossun laws are strict.”

In my head, I sift through the thirty or so high-ranked families on the planet and determine that at least a dozen of them would be happy to buy my family land out from under me. If it comes to the auction, I may never get the land back.

“I understand.” I rise to my feet and find they’re more solid than I expected them to be. With a deadline and goal in mind, I feel a microgram better than I did two minutes ago. It’s a fast deadline with a sky-high goal, but it’s something.

“I’m sorry to say that your parents will have to vacate the land, and they can’t take any of their belongings with them.”

I deflate in both annoyance and defeat. “Really?” I sound whiny, and I know it. But Álvares is not offended.

“I’m sorry again.” She stops to flick her fingers through her projection and transfer a file to me. “I do have a little good news for you.”

It’s a statement for the bank account I have for schooling purposes. I have fifty-five hundred credits left.

“Because this account is in your own name, it’s money we couldn’t take. I highly recommend buying back a few items your parents can’t do without and finding them a cheap place in the city to live.” She smoothes out her blouse and sits back in the chair.

Fuck that. We’re taking as much as we can as we walk out the door. Mom and Dad will at least keep their clothes and the smaller family heirlooms. I’m not letting the bank take our food either. Everything in the pantry and refrigerator on the property will be emptied and packed to go.

I swear to all the gods that I’m going to break Tomu’s legs if I ever find him.

“And then?” I’m afraid of the answer.

“It’s time to either find your brother and the money, if he hasn’t spent it, or get a really good job.”