Chapter 2: The Name on Every Document
Emma released my wrist.
I opened the folder and felt the room tilt.
The first page was a petition claiming Mom could no longer manage her own affairs.
Behind it was a power-of-attorney form bearing Margaret E.
Hartwell’s name—and a signature that looked almost like hers.
“She never signed this,” I said.
“I know,” Emma whispered.
“Stephanie practiced the signature for weeks.”
I turned another page.
A development company had offered eighteen million dollars for Willowbrook.
The agreement listed Richard Whitmore as an adviser and Stephanie as the future spouse of the farm’s legal heir.
“So the wedding gave her access?”
“More than access,” Emma said.
“Once you were married, she planned to convince a court that Margaret was confused.
Then she would pressure you to sign as your mother’s guardian.”
My phone rang.
It was Daniel Mercer.
“Charles, open my envelope immediately,” he said.
“Your father placed a restriction on Willowbrook that the Whitmores may not know about.”
Before I could answer, the apartment door slammed downstairs.
“Emma?” Stephanie called.
“Why is Charles’s car outside?”
Emma froze.
Then she pointed to a second folder stamped CONFIDENTIAL.
“She can’t find you with that,” she whispered.
“Because those papers reveal who helped her forge Margaret’s signature.”
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Who betrayed Charles’s mother—and what secret had his father hidden inside the farm agreement?
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