I let my shoulders slump just slightly and softened my voice.
“I can move the money. But there’s an IRS issue.”
That got their attention.
“If I send it as a gift, it gets flagged,” I said. “It has to be documented as a debt purchase. Compliance needs paperwork and a short video statement saying everyone agrees voluntarily.”
My father scoffed, but greed overruled suspicion.
“Fine,” he said. “Do it.”
I set my phone on the table with the camera running.
Then I poured champagne.
We toasted.
They signed.
Not one of them actually read the documents.
Finally, I nudged the conversation where I needed it to go.
“It would help the auditors,” I said lightly, “if you explained the prior time family money was used for one of James’s ventures. Patterns matter.”
My father sat straighter, eager to sound knowledgeable.
“For the record,” he said into the lens, “we used Vanessa’s inheritance to fund James’s first app. It was all family money anyway.”
And just like that, I had everything I needed.
