Chapter 9: The Woman Using My Name
Vanessa answered too quickly.
“I don't know.””
Madison stood.
“You didn't even think about it.””
“Because I don't know!””
Rebecca raised a hand.
“Everyone stop talking.””
The room fell silent.
She looked at me.
“Charlotte, do you authorize me to contact Westbridge on your behalf?””
“Yes.””
“Good.””
Then she looked at everyone else.
“Nobody contacts them. Nobody deletes messages. Nobody destroys documents. Nobody attempts to ‘fix’ anything.””
Her eyes stopped on Derek.
“Especially you.””
He laughed.
“You don't represent me.””
“No,” Rebecca said.
“Which is why you should consider finding someone who does.””
He stopped laughing.
We moved downstairs.
I sat at the kitchen table where my father had opened the envelope that morning.
It felt like weeks ago.
Rebecca called Thomas Vale.
She kept the conversation professional.
“My client denies participating in any authorization meeting.””
A pause.
“When did this meeting occur?””
She wrote down a date.
My heart stopped.
I knew that date.
Three weeks earlier.
I had been in San Diego for a work conference.
I pulled out my phone.
“I wasn't even in Los Angeles.””
Rebecca nodded.
She continued listening.
“Was it in person?””
Another pause.
“Video conference.””
My stomach twisted.
Of course.
A video call required only a face.
Or poor lighting.
Or someone who looked enough like me.
Rebecca asked, “Was identification provided?””
She listened.
“Send us the complete record.””
When the call ended, nobody spoke.
Finally, Dad asked, “What did he say?””
“They conducted a video verification with someone claiming to be Charlotte.””
Madison looked sick.
“Did they see her?””
“Yes.””
“Then how could they not know?””
Rebecca answered carefully.
“The representative apparently had a copy of Charlotte's identification and supporting documents.””
I stared at Vanessa.
“Who had a copy of my ID?””
She shook her head.
“I didn't.””
Then Madison whispered, “I did.””
Everyone turned.
She looked terrified.
“Not like that.””
“Explain,” Rebecca said.
Madison swallowed.
“Mom asked me to scan Charlotte's driver's license.””
My skin went cold.
“When?””
“Maybe two months ago.””
“Why?””
“She said the insurance company needed IDs for everyone living in the house.””
Vanessa interrupted.
“They did.””
Rebecca looked at her.
“Which insurer?””
Vanessa hesitated.
That hesitation answered us.
Madison backed away from her mother.
“Oh my God.””
“Madison—”
“You lied to me too.””
“I asked you to scan a document.””
“You used me!””
“I was protecting this family!””
Madison shouted, “Stop saying that!””
Her voice cracked through the kitchen.
I had never seen her confront Vanessa before.
Not once.
“You keep saying family like it means we have to do whatever you want!””
Vanessa looked stunned.
Madison pointed toward me.
“You made me think Charlotte was pathetic because she still lived here. You kept telling me Dad spoiled her. You told me she was jealous of me.””
My chest tightened.
Vanessa said, “You don't understand.””
“No. I understand now.””
Madison wiped her eyes.
“You needed her gone.””
Vanessa’s face changed.
That was the moment I knew Madison was right.
The bedroom had been useful.
But the real goal had been removal.
I leaned forward.
“Why?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“You already know.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I know about the debt. I know about the forged signature. I know someone impersonated me.””
I stood.
“But none of that explains why you suddenly needed me out yesterday.””
Derek moved toward the door.
Rebecca noticed.
“Going somewhere?””
“I've had enough family therapy.””
My father stepped in front of him.
“No.””
Derek stopped.
Dad's hands trembled, but he didn't move aside.
“You're going to tell my daughter what you did.””
Derek smiled coldly.
“You think you're innocent?””
Dad flinched.
Derek continued.
“You signed everything Vanessa put in front of you because you wanted the money too.””
“I thought it was two hundred thousand.””
“You thought it would pay for your renovations.””
My father went silent.
That hurt.
Again.
Even now, there were more layers.
“Dad?””
He looked at me.
“I wanted to renovate the house.””
“With borrowed money against Mom's property?””
“I didn't understand the trust.””
“You never tried.””
He lowered his eyes.
That was the truth.
Rebecca's laptop chimed.
She opened an email.
“Westbridge sent the video.””
Every person in the kitchen froze.
Rebecca looked at me.
“Charlotte, you should see this first.””
I walked around the table.
She opened the file.
The image was grainy.
A woman sat in a dim room.
Dark hair.
Similar build.
Glasses I didn't wear.
The camera angle was deliberately poor.
The lender's representative asked her name.
The woman answered:
“Charlotte Bennett.””
Hearing someone else say my name made my skin crawl.
Then the woman leaned toward the camera.
For half a second, the light caught her face.
Madison gasped.
My father whispered, “Jesus.””
I didn't recognize her.
But Vanessa did.
She grabbed the counter.
“No.””
Derek turned toward the door again.
This time Daniel blocked him.
I paused the video.
“Who is she?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
“Who is she?””
Madison stared at the screen.
Then her eyes widened.
“Mom.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“I can explain.””
Madison looked at me.
“I've seen her before.””
“Where?””
“At Uncle Derek's office.””
Derek cursed under his breath.
Madison pointed at the screen.
“Her name is Nicole. She works for him.””
Rebecca immediately wrote it down.
I looked at Derek.
“You had your employee impersonate me?””
“You can't prove I told her to do anything.””
Rebecca said, “The recording is a useful beginning.””
Derek's face hardened.
“You people have no idea what's at stake.””
“Then tell us.””
He looked at Vanessa.
She silently begged him not to.
That was when I realized the eight hundred thousand dollars wasn't the whole story.
“Derek,” I said, “what's really at stake?””
He laughed once.
Then looked directly at me.
“The estate.””
“My estate?””
“Not just Canyon Ridge.””
Daniel's expression sharpened.
“What do you know about the estate?””
Derek smiled.
Too late, Vanessa said:
“Don't.””
He ignored her.
“Your grandfather's hillside property sits on land a developer has been trying to assemble for almost three years.””
My heartbeat slowed.
“What developer?””
Derek leaned against the doorway.
“The same investment group backing my project.””
Rebecca went still.
Everything connected.
The fake authorization.
The refinancing.
The rush to remove me.
The obsession with what my grandfather had left me.
This had never been only about saving Derek's failing company.
I looked at Vanessa.
“You weren't trying to borrow against one house.””
She said nothing.
“You were trying to get leverage over me.””
Still nothing.
Then Rebecca scrolled through the documents Westbridge had sent.
Suddenly, she stopped.
“Charlotte.””
“What?””
“There’s an attachment.””
She opened it.
A draft purchase agreement appeared.
My name was printed at the top.
The property address beneath it belonged to Canyon Ridge.
My hillside estate.
The sale price made Daniel swear under his breath.
It was far below the property's estimated value.
And at the bottom was a scheduled closing date.
Three days from now.
I looked at Vanessa.
“You gave me twenty-four hours to leave because you thought I'd be too busy moving to notice this.””
Her silence confirmed it.
Rebecca turned the laptop toward me.
Then she pointed to the buyer's name.
I read it once.
Then again.
Because the company purchasing my estate wasn't some unknown developer.
It was Lawson Urban Development.
Derek's company.
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He hadn't been trying to save his business with my family's property.
He had been trying to take mine.
