Chapter 7: The Woman I Married
I stared at Lauren’s signature until the letters blurred.
“No.””
The word came out quietly.
Hannah didn’t move.
My mother sat perfectly still on the sofa, one hand pressed against her chest.
Samuel’s voice crackled through my phone.
“Michael? What document are you looking at?””
I swallowed.
“A transfer filing.””
“What transfer filing?””
“Hannah brought a copy.””
“Read me the recording number.””
I did.
I heard Samuel typing.
Lauren wiped her face.
“Michael, please let me explain.””
I raised one hand.
“Not yet.””
Samuel stopped typing.
Then he went silent.
“Samuel?””
“This is bad.””
Mom whispered, “How bad?””
“The document shows a transfer from Evelyn Carter to Vale Development Holdings.””
My stomach twisted.
“For how much?””
“According to the filing? Four hundred thousand dollars.””
Hannah laughed bitterly.
“For land worth millions.””
Mom’s face turned white.
“I never agreed to sell anything.””
“I know,” Samuel said.
“And if your signature was forged, we can challenge it. But we need to act immediately.””
I looked at Lauren.
She couldn’t meet my eyes.
“Why is my wife listed as the witness?””
Samuel hesitated.
“That’s a question for Lauren.””
Everyone looked at her.
She wrapped her arms around herself.
“I didn’t know what I was signing.””
Hannah shook her head.
“Seriously?””
“Gregory told me it was preliminary paperwork.””
“For what?””
Lauren’s eyes found mine.
“To protect our interest.””
“Our interest?””
She began crying harder.
“Michael, you have to understand how this started.””
“Then start talking.””
Lauren sank into a chair.
“A few months ago, I found Thomas’s letter. I saw the property information and started researching.””
“Behind my back.””
“Yes.””
“Keep going.””
“I found Gregory’s company.””
“And called him?””
“Yes.””
“He told you the land was valuable.””
“He said your mother might be getting bad advice.””
Mom gave a disbelieving laugh.
“From whom?””
Lauren looked ashamed.
“From Michael.””
I felt as though someone had struck me.
“Me?””
“He said you might convince Evelyn to give away part of the property because of Thomas’s letter.””
Hannah stepped forward.
“That was the point of Thomas’s letter.””
“I didn’t know whether you were real!””
“You could have asked.””
“I panicked!””
There was that word again.
Panicked.
As if panic could explain months of deception.
I placed the transfer page on the table.
“Did Gregory tell you to impersonate my mother on the phone?””
Lauren looked at me.
“No.””
“Samuel called your number.””
“I know.””
“And someone claimed to be Evelyn.””
Lauren’s mouth trembled.
“Gregory told me it was just identity confirmation.””
My mother made a sound I had never heard from her before.
A small, wounded gasp.
“You pretended to be me?””
Lauren covered her face.
“I thought I was protecting Michael.””
I stood so quickly the coffee table shook.
“Do not use my name to justify this.””
“I was thinking about our future!””
“You forged my mother’s identity.””
“I didn’t forge the signature!””
“Then who did?””
“Gregory had the documents!””
Hannah looked at Lauren with disgust.
“And you witnessed them.””
“I signed where he told me.””
“Without Evelyn present?””
Lauren said nothing.
That silence was enough.
I walked to the window.
Outside, rain streamed beneath the streetlights.
Fourteen years.
I had known Lauren for sixteen.
I remembered our first apartment.
Our wedding.
The night my father died and Lauren sat beside me until sunrise.
The woman behind me had once held my mother while she cried at Dad’s funeral.
How had we gotten here?
“Why the dishes?””
My voice was barely above a whisper.
Lauren looked confused.
“What?””
I turned around.
“Why make Mom cook and clean tonight?””
Her face changed.
That question frightened her more than the legal documents.
Mom noticed too.
“Lauren?””
Lauren stood.
“It wasn’t about the dishes.””
“Then what was it about?””
She looked toward Mom.
“I needed her tired.””
My blood went cold.
Hannah whispered, “Why?””
Lauren started shaking.
“Gregory said there might be another verification call tonight.””
Mom stared at her.
“You wanted me asleep.””
“I wanted you upstairs.””
“So you could answer another call pretending to be her,” I said.
Lauren closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
The room went silent.
That was the moment my marriage ended.
Not officially.
There was no judge.
No paperwork.
No dramatic announcement.
Just a woman standing in my living room admitting that she had deliberately exhausted my elderly mother so she could steal her identity.
I opened the front door.
Lauren stared at me.
“Michael.””
“Leave.””
“Please.””
“Get out.””
“Where am I supposed to go?””
“I don’t care.””
She flinched.
I had never said those words to her before.
I hoped I would never need to say them again.
Lauren picked up her purse.
At the door, she stopped beside Mom.
“I’m sorry.””
Mom looked at her.
“No.””
Lauren blinked.
“No?””
“You’re sorry you were caught.””
Lauren’s face crumpled.
Then she walked into the rain.
I locked the door behind her.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Samuel’s voice came through the phone.
“Michael?””
I had forgotten he was still there.
“Yes.””
“I found something else.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
“The four-hundred-thousand-dollar sale wasn’t the final transaction.””
I gripped the phone.
“What does that mean?””
“The property was transferred again twenty-three minutes later.””
“To whom?””
Samuel gave me a company name.
Hannah’s face changed instantly.
May you like
“What?”” I asked.
She whispered, “That company belongs to my husband.””
