Chapter 4: The Signature That Looked Real
Rebecca arrived at Natalie’s house before eight the next morning.
She read every page twice, then sealed the flash drive in an evidence bag.
“Claire, did you open that account?” she asked.
“I signed forms Daniel brought me.”
“What did he say they were?”
“A performance-bonus account.
He said the company used separate accounts for senior staff.”
Rebecca removed her glasses.
“And you didn’t verify that?”
“I trusted him.”
I looked across the table.
“So did I.”
Claire’s eyes filled, but Rebecca slid the affidavit toward her.
“Trust won’t protect either of you.
We need the bank records and the original authorization packet.”
My phone rang.
Daniel’s name appeared.
Rebecca nodded.
“Answer it.
Put him on speaker.”
“What do you want, Daniel?”
“I want to stop this before strangers tear our lives apart.”
“You started tearing mine apart three weeks ago.”
“That’s not fair.”
Natalie gave a sharp laugh from the counter.
Daniel continued.
“Come home alone.
I’ll transfer half the money back today.”
“Half?”
“The other half is tied up.”
“In what?”
“A temporary business arrangement.”
Rebecca wrote something on a legal pad.
I leaned closer to the phone.
“Did you forge my signature?”
“No.”
“Did I authorize the transfer?”
“You signed the documents.”
“What documents?”
“The refinancing package in August.”
My stomach tightened.
In August, Daniel had placed a stack of papers beside my breakfast plate and said our mortgage lender needed updated tax information.
“You hid a transfer form in that stack.”
“You signed it willingly.”
“You lied about what it was.”
“You should read before signing.”
Natalie crossed the kitchen and took my hand.
Daniel’s voice softened.
“Rachel, you always said we were a team.
Don’t punish me because you stopped paying attention.”
My chair scraped backward.
“You used my trust as permission.”
“I used the signature you gave me.”
Rebecca took the phone.
“Daniel, this is Rebecca Shaw.
Do not contact my client directly again.”
“Rebecca, stay out of my marriage.”
“Your marriage is now connected to a disputed transfer and a company audit.”
“You have one-sided documents supplied by a jealous employee.”
Claire leaned toward the phone.
“You called me the woman you were building a life with.”
“I called you many things, Claire.”
Her face emptied.
Daniel spoke again.
“Rachel, bring back the folder by noon, and I’ll make sure you keep the house.”
Rebecca covered the microphone.
“The house may already be involved.”
I pulled the mortgage statement from my folder.
“What do you mean?”
She pointed to a reference number printed on Daniel’s transfer form.
“I saw this number last night.
It belongs to a secured credit line.”
“Secured by what?”
Rebecca met my eyes.
“Your home.”
I picked up the phone.
“You borrowed against our house?”
Daniel said nothing.
“How much?”
“That isn’t relevant.”
“How much, Daniel?”
“Four hundred thousand.”
My knees folded, and Natalie caught my shoulders before I reached the floor.
Rebecca ended the call.
“Look at me, Rachel,” Natalie said.
“Breathe.”
“He took the savings.
He put the house at risk.
What is left?”
“You are,” Natalie said.
“He did not take you.”
A knock came at the door.
A courier handed Rebecca an envelope from the bank’s legal department.
Rebecca opened it and read the enclosed report.
“What does it say?” I asked.
“The bank’s preliminary examiner compared the signature with your mortgage records.”
“And?”
Rebecca set the page down.
“They consider the signature authentic.”
Claire covered her mouth.
I stared at the neat blue curve of my own name.
Rebecca turned the report over.
“Until we prove how Daniel obtained it, the bank is treating you as a willing participant.”
May you like
My phone lit up with one final message from him.
Now do you understand why you should have come home?
