Chapter 2: The Signature
The paper on Marcus's phone looked official.
Too official.
There was a bank logo in the corner, several paragraphs of legal language, and a signature at the bottom.
*Maya Johnson.*
My name.
My signature.
Except it wasn't my signature.
I had never seen the document before.
“What is this?”” I asked.
Marcus locked his phone.
“Come home.””
“No.””
“Maya.””
“No. Show it to me.””
He looked toward Tasha.
“This doesn't concern you.””
Tasha stepped beside me.
“If my money is involved, it concerns me.””
Marcus sighed.
“Your father made a financial arrangement.””
“You mean you made one.””
“I was trying to protect both of you.””
I laughed.
“By stealing her money?””
His jaw clenched.
“I did not steal anything.””
Tasha's voice cracked.
“Then why did you forge Maya's name?””
Marcus looked at me.
“I didn't.””
“Then who did?””
He didn't answer.
That was becoming his favorite response.
I held out my hand.
“Give me the phone.””
He refused.
“Dad,” Tasha said quietly, “if that signature is legitimate, you have nothing to hide.””
Marcus looked at her.
Then at me.
Finally, he turned the screen around.
I took a picture with my own phone.
The document was titled:
*Guardian Authorization and Vehicle Transfer Agreement.*
My eyes moved down the page.
There it was.
A statement claiming that I had requested the Highlander as a birthday gift and authorized funds from a family-managed account to cover the purchase.
My name was underneath.
My signature was underneath my name.
And beside it was a date.
Three days before my birthday.
“I didn't sign this.””
Marcus crossed his arms.
“You must have forgotten.””
“I would remember signing something that says I'm taking fifty thousand dollars.””
“You were excited about the car.””
“I didn't even know you bought it until this morning!””
Tasha stared at the document.
“Why does it say Maya authorized the withdrawal?””
Marcus didn't respond.
My mother appeared at the end of the sidewalk.
She had followed us.
Her heels clicked against the pavement.
“Maya, please come home.””
I turned toward her.
“Did you sign this?””
She stopped.
“What?””
“The document.””
Her face went pale.
“Why would I?””
“Because you were there when they bought the car.””
“I wasn't.””
Marcus looked at her.
Mom looked at him.
Something passed between them.
A warning.
A secret.
I saw it.
Tasha saw it too.
“You lied,” Tasha whispered.
Mom shook her head.
“No. I didn't.””
“You said you weren't involved.””
“I said I didn't sign it.””
“That isn't what Maya asked.””
Mom looked away.
I felt something inside me crack.
For seventeen years, I'd believed my mother was the person who would protect me from everyone else.
Now I wasn't sure who she was protecting me from.
I stepped backward.
“I want the original document.””
Marcus shook his head.
“You're being dramatic.””
“I want the original.””
“You're a minor.””
“Exactly.””
I pointed at the paper on his phone.
“If someone used my name to move fifty thousand dollars, I want to know who did it.””
Marcus's voice became colder.
“You're going to stop this now.””
“Or what?””
He stepped toward me.
Tasha immediately moved between us.
“Don't.””
Marcus stared at his daughter.
“I am still your father.””
“And I'm still your daughter.””
Her voice trembled.
“But apparently that doesn't mean what I thought it meant.””
For the first time, Marcus looked hurt.
Then his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed instantly.
He walked several feet away before answering.
“Hello?””
Tasha and I watched him.
He turned his back to us.
His shoulders stiffened.
“No,” he said.
A pause.
“I told you she wouldn't find out.””
Tasha's eyes widened.
I felt cold all over.
Marcus continued.
“The transfer went through.””
Another pause.
“No. The girl doesn't know about the second account.””
I looked at Tasha.
She looked at me.
Second account?
Marcus turned slightly.
I could hear only fragments.
“Yes.””
“She can't access it.””
“No, the trust is still under my control.””
My heart began pounding.
Tasha grabbed my wrist.
Marcus suddenly stopped talking.
He had realized we were listening.
He turned around.
The call ended.
“Who was that?”” I asked.
“No one.””
“Who was that?””
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
“Go home.””
Tasha shook her head.
“What second account?””
Marcus's face went blank.
“I don't know what you're talking about.””
“You just said it!””
“I was talking about something else.””
“What something else?””
He had no answer.
I pulled out my phone.
“I'm calling the bank.””
Marcus grabbed my wrist.
Not hard enough to hurt.
Hard enough to stop me.
“Maya.””
I stared at his hand.
Then at him.
“Let go.””
He did.
Immediately.
But the damage was done.
I had never been afraid of him before.
Not really.
Angry, yes.
Intimidated, sometimes.
But afraid?
Never.
I stepped back.
Tasha moved beside me.
“We're going to the bank,” she said.
Marcus's face hardened.
“You're not.””
“Watch me.””
We turned away.
Behind us, Mom suddenly shouted.
“Because your grandmother opened it!””
We stopped.
Slowly, I turned around.
Mom stood in the middle of the sidewalk.
Her face was wet with tears.
Tasha whispered, “Opened what?””
Mom looked at me.
“The second account.””
May you like
She took a shaky breath.
“And if you go to the bank today, they're going to tell you something your father has been hiding for seventeen years.””
