Episode: 2
Monica finishes the cold soup and looks out the window as Alan drives away. Thirty days later, she visits a bank branch. A bank clerk presents mortgage files bearing her faked name. Her lawyer explains that Alan risks prison for forgery. Monica declines legal action to shield her daughter Lily, choosing to pay the debt herself. On the steps, she weighs the heavy interest. Monica then signs papers establishing Maple House.
Monica sits alone in the dining room and drinks the cold soup Alan left behind. She gazes out the window as his car rolls down the street and departs from their home for the very last time.
One month later, Monica enters the bank to review financial records. The bank clerk sits across from her and presents official mortgage documents. Monica looks down at the paperwork and sees a forged copy of her own signature.
In his office, the lawyer informs Monica that Alan could face imprisonment for the forged signature. Monica declines to pursue criminal charges against him. She decides to protect her daughter Lily and vows to handle the repayment on her own.
Monica pauses on the outdoor staircase after leaving the law office. She trembles while considering the financial reality ahead of her. She calculates the massive debt and realizes that ordinary bed and breakfast income will not satisfy the interest payments.
Monica sits down at a desk with official contracts laid out before her. She takes a pen and signs the paperwork. The agreement authorizes the conversion of the old residence into a five-room bed and breakfast called Maple House.
“Mrs. West, this is the joint signature of you and your husband.”
“Do you have any idea how big this loan is?”
“Do you have any idea how big this loan is?”
The episode ends with Monica signing the agreement at her desk. She commits to turning the old home into a five-room lodging named Maple House, despite the heavy loan interest hanging over her head. Can her new bed and breakfast generate enough money to keep the bank from taking the property?