Chapter 14 - The Escrow CloseSeven days later, on a clear January afternoon, I sat in the glass-walled conference room of Cascade Title & Escrow in downtown Bellevue.
Across the mahogany table sat the escrow officer, a stack of closing documents resting between us.
"Everything is verified, Ms. Vance," the escrow officer said, sliding a final signature page toward me. "Mr. Thorne’s wire of $1.55 million hit our trust account at 11:00 AM. The primary bank lien of $120,000 has been satisfied. Real estate commissions, excise taxes, and closing fees have been deducted."
I picked up the heavy black pen and signed my name on the final seller's affidavit.
Emma E. Vance.
Clean. Precise. Final.
The escrow officer stamped the document with a heavy steel seal and leaned back. "Conveyance of deed is officially recorded with King County. The net proceeds of $1,342,000 have been wired per your written disbursement instructions."
The wire was split with mathematical exactness:
$782,000 wired directly back into my personal wealth management account—reimbursing my original $680,000 principal, plus the capital gains taxes and lost interest I had absorbed when liquidating my Kirkland duplex six months earlier.
$560,000 wired directly into the Vance Managed Annuity Trust at Northern Trust Bank, establishing an irrevocable, inflation-adjusted monthly income stream of $2,350 for my parents for the rest of their natural lives.
I stood up, buttoned my wool coat, and picked up my leather briefcase.
My phone chimed with a bank notification before I reached the elevator.
NOTIFICATION: WIRE TRANSFER RECEIVED.
AMOUNT: $782,000.00 USD
ACCOUNT: ENDING IN *4902 (EMMA VANCE)
STATUS: CLEARED / AVAILABLE BALANCE.
May you like
I stood in the quiet warmth of the lobby, looking at the number on my screen.
Fifteen years of quiet work, thrift-store coats, and sacrifices had been restored to my ledger down to the exact cent. The account was balanced. The debt was settled. The ledger was closed.
Related Stories
