Chapter 6 - My Forged Name
I stared at the signature until the lines blurred.
It looked like mine.
Almost.
The loop in the C was wrong.
The final stroke in my last name leaned too far left.
Someone had practiced.
Emma whispered, "Take pictures."
I photographed every page.
The document authorized Derek to move up to $300,000 from accounts held in my name into an investment vehicle called Hale Family Growth Partners.
I had never heard of it.
I opened another document.
It was dated two days after our wedding.
Tomorrow.
"They were going to submit this tomorrow."
Emma nodded.
I kept photographing.
Copies automatically uploaded to a cloud folder Olivia had created for me.
Then I opened the folder marked Allison.
The amount had been $150,000.
Rebecca's had been $95,000.
Marissa's had been $240,000.
All of them contained signatures.
All of them had the same witness.
Brenda Hale.
My phone vibrated.
Olivia had received the uploads.
Her reply came immediately.
DO NOT TOUCH THE ORIGINALS MORE THAN NECESSARY.
I'm forwarding these to an attorney.
A floorboard creaked outside.
Emma shut the cabinet.
We froze.
The doorknob moved.
Locked.
"Derek?"
Brenda's voice.
Emma looked at me in terror.
The handle moved again.
"Derek, are you in there?"
I scanned the room.
No second door.
No balcony.
Then I noticed the old built-in bookcase.
One section had no dust along the floor.
I pointed.
Emma understood.
We pulled.
The entire bookcase shifted three inches.
A narrow passage appeared behind it.
"Old service corridor," Emma whispered.
Of course a century-old mansion had secrets.
We slipped inside and pulled the shelf closed.
Thirty seconds later, Brenda entered the office.
Through a narrow crack, I could see her.
She walked directly to the file cabinet.
My stomach sank.
She opened my folder.
Stopped.
Then looked around.
She knew someone had touched it.
She picked up her phone.
"Derek."
A pause.
"Get upstairs."
Another pause.
"No."
Her voice changed.
"Now."
She hung up.
Then she crossed to the desk and opened a drawer.
What she removed made Emma grab my hand.
A small handgun.
I stopped breathing.
Brenda checked the magazine.
Then she slid the weapon into her handbag.
May you like
When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Let's see how far you get, Chloe."
