Chapter 7: The Witness Who Lied
I stared at Madison's name until the letters stopped looking real.
My stepsister had apologized to me less than an hour earlier. She had handed me a dress for graduation and admitted that she'd deliberately destroyed the one I'd worked eight months to afford.
Now her name was printed beneath a witness statement claiming I'd willingly given away my college savings.
"Dad," I whispered, "what if she helped Vanessa?""
He lowered his phone.
"Then we'll find out.""
"But you saw her crying. She said she didn't know about the money.""
"Emily, I saw her crying. I heard what she said. Neither of those things tells me what she signed.""
His words weren't cruel, but they frightened me because they were true.
For years, I'd assumed Madison and Vanessa were always on the same side. They whispered together, shared secrets, and laughed whenever I was excluded.
Why should I believe Madison had suddenly changed?
I followed Dad downstairs.
Madison was in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal she hadn't touched. Her eyes were swollen, and she'd changed into a gray sweatshirt.
When she saw us, she looked at Dad's phone.
"What happened?""
Dad placed the document on the table.
"Tell me about this.""
Madison leaned forward.
The moment she recognized her name, she went completely still.
"I've never seen that before.""
"Your signature is on it.""
She shook her head.
"No. I didn't sign that.""
Dad pulled out the chair opposite her.
"Did your mother ever ask you to sign any documents?""
Madison rubbed her forehead.
"She asked me to sign something last month. She said it was paperwork for a college savings account.""
"What did it say?""
"I don't know. It was a bunch of pages. She told me I didn't need to read all of it because it was just financial paperwork.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Did you sign it?""
Madison looked at me.
"Yes.""
The answer landed heavily between us.
"You signed something without reading it?"" I asked.
"I know how stupid that sounds.""
"You signed a statement saying I gave away my college money?""
"No!""
She stood so abruptly that her chair scraped the floor.
"I swear, Emily, I didn't know about that!""
Dad raised a hand.
"Sit down, Madison.""
She obeyed, trembling.
"Did your mother tell you the documents involved Emily?""
"No. She said the paperwork was for an account she'd opened for me. She said she needed my signature to make it official.""
Dad examined the document again.
"Do you remember where you signed?""
"At the dining table. She had a stack of papers, and she kept pointing to the places where she wanted my signature.""
"Did anyone witness it?""
Madison hesitated.
"Her friend Claire was there.""
"Claire who?""
"Claire Donovan. She works at a real estate office.""
Dad and I exchanged a look.
Another person. Another name.
Madison began crying again.
"She told me it was normal. She said adults sign things all the time without reading every page.""
I wanted to believe her.
But I remembered her laughing while red paint dripped down my wrists.
"Why didn't you tell me?"" I asked.
She looked at me through her tears.
"Because I didn't think you'd care.""
I laughed once, without humor.
"You didn't think I'd care that my name was on a document about my own money?""
"No. I mean..."" She swallowed.
"I didn't think you'd care what happened to me.""
That silenced me.
Dad leaned back.
"Madison, nobody is asking you to defend your mother. We're asking you to tell the truth.""
She nodded.
"I will.""
"Then I want you to call Claire and ask whether she remembers the documents.""
Madison picked up her phone.
Her hands shook so badly that she nearly dropped it.
She called.
Claire answered on the fourth ring.
"Madison? It's barely seven. What's wrong?""
"Claire, do you remember the papers Mom brought over last month?""
A pause.
"What papers?""
"The financial documents. The ones I signed at our house.""
Another pause.
Then Claire said, "Your mother told me those were routine.""
"Did you see what they said?""
"Not really.""
"Did you sign anything?""
"No. Why are you asking me this?""
Madison glanced at Dad.
"Because there's a statement claiming Emily gave Mom permission to use her college money, and my name is listed as a witness.""
The silence on the other end lasted so long I thought the call had disconnected.
Then Claire spoke.
"Madison, I need to tell you something.""
Her voice had changed.
"I didn't witness you signing that statement.""
Madison gripped the phone.
"What?""
"I was there when you signed the account paperwork. But I left before your mother finished organizing the other documents.""
"Then why is your name on the witness page?""
"I don't know.""
Dad leaned closer to the phone.
"Claire, this is Michael Carter. Did Vanessa tell you she was transferring money from Emily's account?""
"No," Claire answered quickly.
"She told me she'd received an inheritance.""
"Did you help her purchase a property?""
Silence.
I watched Dad's face tighten.
"Claire?""
"She asked me to help her find a rental property," Claire finally said.
"She said she was separating from her husband.""
"Did she tell you when?""
"Six weeks from now.""
The wedding date.
Dad closed his eyes for a moment.
"Thank you. We'll be in touch.""
He ended the call.
Madison looked as if she might be sick.
"She lied to me, too.""
I stared at the paperwork.
The forged statement. The money. The wedding. The house Vanessa had been planning to move into.
Everything was connected, but we still didn't know how.
Then Dad's phone rang.
It was the attorney.
He listened without speaking, occasionally asking a short question.
Finally, he said, "Send me the complete file. Every page, including the original submission.""
He ended the call and looked at us.
"The attorney has a copy of the original document.""
"What does that mean?"" I asked.
"It means the signature may not be the only thing that was falsified.""
He turned his screen toward us.
The statement had been submitted electronically through a legal document service.
Beneath the forged signatures was a certification stating that all parties had appeared in person before a notary.
The notary's name was printed clearly.
*Claire Donovan.*
Madison covered her mouth.
"But she said she didn't witness it.""
Dad stood.
"Then either Claire is lying now, or someone used her identity.""
I looked at Madison.
For the first time, she looked as frightened as I felt.
Because if Claire hadn't witnessed the document, someone had deliberately made it appear that she had.
And whoever did that hadn't simply wanted to steal my money.
They'd wanted the theft to look legal.
Dad picked up his keys.
"We're going to the attorney's office.""
As he reached the front door, Madison grabbed her coat.
"I'm coming.""
Dad hesitated.
"You may be asked questions you won't like.""
"I know.""
She looked at me.
"But if Mom used my signature to hurt Emily, I need to know what I helped her do.""
I didn't forgive Madison that morning.
But I let her follow us.
May you like
And on the drive into Atlanta, none of us noticed the black SUV that had been parked across the street from our house.
Not until it started following us.
