Chapter 4: The Signature That Shouldn't Exist
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The document trembled in Tasha's hands.
Tomorrow's date sat beneath a signature that looked almost exactly like mine.
Almost.
But not quite.
I knew my handwriting. I knew the little crooked tail I put on the letter *y* in Johnson.
This signature had the same letters.
The same name.
The same general shape.
But it was too perfect.
Too deliberate.
Daniel pointed toward the bottom of the page.
“This request was submitted electronically at 8:12 this morning.””
Tasha looked at me.
“I was asleep at 8:12.””
“So was I,” I said.
Daniel nodded.
“That's what concerns me.””
My phone suddenly vibrated.
All three of us jumped.
I pulled it from my pocket.
One new text message.
*MOM: Come home. Now. We need to talk before your father makes this worse.*
Tasha read it over my shoulder.
“Your mother knows.””
I stared at the screen.
“What do you mean?””
“She knows we're here.””
Another vibration.
This time, it was a voicemail notification.
I pressed play.
My mother's voice came through, shaky and low.
“Maya, please don't do anything until we talk. There's something I should have told you years ago.””
The message ended.
I looked at Daniel.
“Can you stop the transfer?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“I can place a temporary hold while we investigate the authorization.””
“Do it.””
Daniel nodded.
“But if there has been fraudulent activity, you need to file a report.””
Tasha looked at him.
“With the police?””
“Yes.””
She swallowed.
“What happens to my money?””
“That depends on what the investigation finds.””
I felt Tasha's hand close around mine.
Daniel stood.
“I'll put the hold in place.””
We waited outside his office.
Five minutes.
Then ten.
When he returned, his expression was different.
“It's done.””
Tasha exhaled.
“Thank you.””
Daniel looked at me.
“There is one more issue.””
“What?””
“The signature.””
He held up a copy.
“The bank's system shows that it was authenticated using an electronic verification tied to your personal information.””
I frowned.
“My driver's license?””
“Not exactly.””
“What then?””
He hesitated.
“Your Social Security number.””
My skin went cold.
Someone had my identity.
And apparently, they'd had it for a long time.
We left the bank just after two.
Neither of us spoke in the car.
When we pulled into the driveway, the birthday decorations were gone.
The balloons had disappeared.
The neighbors were gone.
Even the Highlander was gone.
Only scraps of red ribbon remained caught in the bushes.
Tasha looked at me.
“Where's the car?””
I shook my head.
“I don't know.””
The front door opened.
My mother stood there.
Her face was pale.
Behind her stood Marcus.
And between them was a woman I had never seen before.
She wore a navy blazer and carried a leather folder.
Marcus spoke first.
“Come inside.””
Tasha didn't move.
“Who is she?””
The woman stepped forward.
“My name is Evelyn Brooks. I'm an attorney.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why is an attorney here?””
Evelyn looked directly at me.
“Because your family has been keeping something from you.””
Marcus's face hardened.
“Evelyn.””
She ignored him.
Tasha stepped closer.
“What exactly have they been hiding?””
Evelyn opened her folder.
“There was a second trust.””
Tasha's eyes widened.
“We know.””
“No,” Evelyn said quietly.
“You don't.””
She removed a document.
“This trust wasn't created for Tasha.””
She looked at me.
“It was created for Maya.””
I stopped breathing.
My mother closed her eyes.
Marcus looked furious.
Tasha whispered, “What?””
Evelyn placed the document on the table.
“Your grandmother established it seventeen years ago.””
I stared at my name.
Maya Johnson.
Beneficiary.
My hands went numb.
“How much?”” I asked.
Evelyn hesitated.
“Approximately two hundred eighty thousand dollars.””
Tasha looked at Marcus.
He wouldn't meet her eyes.
I turned toward my mother.
“You knew?””
She began crying.
“Yes.””
My voice broke.
“How long?””
“Since before you were born.””
I stepped backward.
“You knew I had money?””
“Not exactly.””
“Then what did you know?””
Mom wiped her cheeks.
“I knew your grandmother wanted to protect you.””
“From what?””
She looked at Marcus.
And that was when I understood.
Not everything.
But enough.
My grandmother hadn't created the trust because she expected me to need money.
She had created it because she didn't trust the people raising me.
I looked at Evelyn.
“Why?””
She opened another folder.
“Because seventeen years ago, your grandmother suspected someone would eventually try to control your inheritance.””
“Who?””
Evelyn's eyes moved toward Marcus.
“Your stepfather.””
The room went silent.
Marcus slammed his hand against the table.
“That is enough.””
Evelyn didn't flinch.
“You asked me to come here because you wanted to control the situation.””
“I asked you to protect this family.””
“No,” she said.
“You asked me to protect you.””
Tasha stared at her father.
“Dad?””
Marcus's expression softened.
“Tasha, you need to understand—”
“No.””
Her voice was quiet.
But firm.
“I've spent my whole life understanding you.””
She pointed at the documents.
“Now I want you to understand me.””
Marcus stared at her.
Tasha picked up the first page.
“My mother's money.””
Then the second.
“Maya's trust.””
She looked at me.
“And the car.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“What were you actually trying to do?””
Marcus said nothing.
Evelyn answered for him.
“He wasn't trying to buy Maya a birthday present.””
She opened the final document.
“He was trying to transfer control of both trusts.””
I stared at the page.
At the signature.
At the dates.
Then I noticed something that made my blood run cold.
The first fraudulent document had been created three months ago.
Not three days.
Not this morning.
Three months ago.
Someone had been planning this long before my birthday.
And suddenly, my mother whispered something that none of us expected.
“Marcus didn't forge the first signature.””
Everyone turned toward her.
May you like
She looked at me.
“I did.””
