Chapter 6: The Signature
I let Hannah inside.
Lauren immediately stepped backward.
“No.””
Hannah stared at her.
“No?””
“You cannot just show up here.””
“This isn’t your decision anymore.””
I shut the door.
“Everybody stop.””
Hannah turned toward me.
Up close, I saw something that unsettled me.
Her eyes.
Gray-green.
Exactly like my father’s.
That proved nothing, of course.
But it made the family secret suddenly feel real.
“Why would my mother lose everything by morning?””
Hannah looked toward Mom.
“Evelyn, did you sign anything Gregory Vale sent you?””
Mom shook her head.
“No.””
“Anything at all?””
“No.””
Lauren whispered, “Ask her about Tuesday.””
Mom looked at her.
“What about Tuesday?””
“The courier.””
My mother frowned.
Then her expression changed.
“Oh.””
My chest tightened.
“What courier?””
Mom rubbed her forehead.
“A man brought papers to the apartment.””
“What papers?””
“I thought they were related to the repairs.””
Hannah closed her eyes.
“Did you sign?””
“Just a delivery acknowledgment.””
Lauren cursed under her breath.
I stared at Mom.
“Do you have a copy?””
“No.””
Hannah set her bag down.
“That may have been more than a delivery acknowledgment.””
“How would you know?””
“Because Gregory tried the same thing with my mother.””
Silence.
Mom whispered, “Rebecca?””
Hannah nodded.
“My mother died six years ago.””
Mom’s face collapsed.
“I’m sorry.””
“She knew about the land.””
Hannah removed a folder from her bag but kept it closed.
“She also knew Gregory Vale’s father.””
I frowned.
“What does his father have to do with this?””
“The Vale family has wanted that property for decades.””
Lauren stared at Hannah.
“You never told me that.””
“You never asked about my family. You asked how cheaply I would disappear.””
Lauren flinched.
Good.
Hannah turned to Mom.
“My mother believed the Vales knew the land would become extremely valuable.””
“Why?””
“A highway expansion.””
I remembered hearing rumors about a major transportation project near the northern county line.
Nothing had been finalized publicly.
Hannah continued.
“If that project goes ahead, the land isn’t worth $2.6 million.””
“How much?””
She looked at me.
“Possibly eight.””
Nobody spoke.
Eight million dollars.
Suddenly Lauren’s fifty-thousand-dollar offer looked even uglier.
But Hannah wasn’t finished.
“Gregory doesn’t want to buy the land at market value. He wants control before the expansion announcement becomes public.””
I looked at Lauren.
“You knew this?””
“No.””
Hannah laughed.
“You knew enough.””
“What is that supposed to mean?””
“You met Gregory.””
Lauren went rigid.
I turned slowly.
“What?””
Lauren shook her head.
“She’s lying.””
Hannah opened the folder.
“I have proof.””
She removed several printed photographs.
One showed Lauren sitting across from a man at an outdoor café.
I recognized Gregory Vale from his company website.
Another showed them outside a hotel.
My hands went cold.
“When?””
Hannah answered.
“Six weeks ago.””
I looked at Lauren.
“Tell me she’s wrong.””
“It was business.””
“What business?””
“I was trying to understand what the land was worth.””
“Why secretly?””
“Because your mother wouldn’t discuss it with me.””
Mom stared at her.
“You never asked.””
Lauren snapped, “Because you treat me like an outsider!””
“You are not entitled to my finances!””
“I’m Michael’s wife!””
“And that makes my property yours?””
Lauren stopped.
There it was.
Something raw.
Something I had apparently missed for years.
Entitlement.
I looked at Hannah.
“What happened Tuesday?””
“Gregory called me.””
“Why?””
“He thought I was cooperating with Lauren.””
Lauren stepped forward.
“I never told him that.””
“No. You just told him I might become a problem.””
“That’s a lie.””
Hannah pulled out her phone.
“I recorded the call.””
Lauren’s face changed.
I didn’t need to hear the recording yet.
Her expression told me enough.
Mom whispered, “Lauren?””
Lauren sat down heavily.
Hannah continued.
“Gregory said Evelyn had already signed the preliminary transfer authorization.””
Mom shook her head violently.
“No.””
“That’s why I came.””
“I never signed that.””
“I believe you.””
Hannah looked at me.
“But if someone disguised it as another document, we need to stop whatever happens next.””
I immediately called Samuel Price.
He answered on the fourth ring.
“Michael?””
“Samuel, I need your help.””
“It’s late. What happened?””
I explained quickly.
The land.
Gregory Vale.
The courier.
The document Mom remembered signing.
Samuel became very quiet.
Then he asked Mom one question.
“Evelyn, did the courier ask to see identification?””
Mom’s face drained.
“Yes.””
Samuel cursed.
I had never heard that man swear in my life.
“What?”” I demanded.
“There’s a transfer filing scheduled for tomorrow morning.””
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“How do you know?””
“Because my office received a verification request this afternoon.””
“Why didn’t you call us?””
“I did.””
Nobody spoke.
Samuel continued.
“I called the number listed on the authorization.””
Mom frowned.
“My number?””
“No.””
Samuel read the final four digits.
I didn’t recognize them.
Mom didn’t either.
But Lauren did.
I saw it instantly.
Her eyes widened.
I turned toward her.
“Whose number is that?””
She shook her head.
“Lauren.””
“I don’t know.””
Hannah stepped closer.
“Yes, you do.””
Lauren backed away.
I repeated the digits.
Then something clicked in my memory.
A second phone.
Lauren had used it months earlier when her regular phone was being repaired.
I stared at her.
“That’s your old number.””
She began crying.
“Michael, please.””
Samuel’s voice came through the speaker.
“Michael, whoever answered that number identified herself as Evelyn.””
My mother covered her mouth.
I felt physically sick.
“Samuel,” I said, “can you stop the transfer?””
“I can challenge it.””
“That’s not what I asked.””
A pause.
“If the filing hasn’t been processed yet, yes.””
I checked the clock.
10:47 p.m.
“When does the office open?””
“Eight-thirty.””
“Then we’ll be there at eight.””
Hannah suddenly shook her head.
“That’s too late.””
Everyone looked at her.
She opened the folder again and removed one final page.
“I didn’t come here because of tomorrow morning.””
She placed the page in front of me.
“There was another filing.””
My eyes moved to the date.
Today.
3:42 p.m.
I looked at the signature at the bottom.
Evelyn Carter.
My mother’s name.
Forged.
Then I saw the second signature.
The witness.
My wife.
Lauren Carter.
I raised my eyes.
Lauren was sobbing now.
May you like
But Hannah’s next words were what destroyed the last piece of trust I had left.
“The land isn’t in your mother’s name anymore.””
