Chapter 12 - The Name on the Note
Claire stared at Rebecca’s name until Megan touched her arm.
“Claire.”
“She’s my attorney.”
“I know.”
“She has represented me for five years.”
Megan looked frightened.
“What if she’s part of it?”
Claire’s first instinct was denial.
Rebecca had helped with estate documents.
Noah’s guardianship.
Insurance paperwork.
The house deed update.
She knew everything.
Which meant she also knew exactly which documents could be manipulated.
Claire called Richard.
He answered immediately.
“Claire.”
“What does Rebecca’s name mean?”
Richard exhaled.
“I don’t know exactly.”
“You said Linda doesn’t know.”
“She doesn’t.”
“How do you?”
“I saw Daniel meet her.”
Claire gripped the phone.
“Where?”
“A restaurant near the courthouse.”
“When?”
“About six months ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Richard’s laugh sounded bitter.
“Because I thought she was helping Daniel with the loan.”
“Helping how?”
“I didn’t ask.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Of course he did not.
Everyone in this family seemed extraordinarily skilled at not asking questions when answers might become inconvenient.
“What does the note say?”
Richard asked.
Claire looked again.
Only three words appeared beside Rebecca’s name.
Document access confirmed.
Claire felt physically cold.
Megan whispered.
“Do not call Rebecca.”
Claire agreed.
They contacted Marcus instead.
He arrived twenty minutes later.
Claire showed him the photograph.
Marcus did not jump to conclusions.
“A name isn’t proof.”
“But it’s enough to be careful.”
“Yes.”
He asked Claire to forward all communication from Rebecca.
Then he asked something unexpected.
“Has Rebecca ever requested original documents?”
Claire thought.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Last month.”
“For what?”
“She said she needed to scan the deed for estate planning.”
Marcus’s expression changed.
“Did you give it to her?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I forgot.”
Megan released a breath.
Claire almost laughed at the absurdity.
Her pregnancy exhaustion might have saved her.
Marcus asked another question.
“Who had access to the signature samples found in the nursery?”
“My Christmas cards were in the desk.”
“Daniel could have taken them Tuesday.”
Claire shook her head.
“The fake signature existed before Tuesday.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“Then someone got a sample earlier.”
Claire thought of Rebecca’s office.
She had signed dozens of pages there.
Her signature would be everywhere.
Marcus called an independent attorney he trusted.
By seven-thirty, Claire had new counsel.
Samantha Greene.
Samantha reviewed the situation and immediately instructed Claire to stop communicating with Rebecca.
Then she asked for copies of every document Rebecca had prepared.
Claire searched her email.
One file caught Samantha’s attention.
An updated marital property acknowledgment.
Claire did not remember requesting it.
It had been emailed two weeks earlier with a simple note.
For future planning.
Claire opened the attachment.
Most of it looked ordinary.
Then Samantha directed her to page seven.
Buried inside dense language was a clause stating that Ethan may have contributed significant improvements to the inherited property.
Claire stared.
“That isn’t true.”
Samantha replied.
“It doesn’t say it is true.”
“What?”
“It creates room to claim it later.”
Claire felt sick.
Rebecca had planted language into legitimate documents.
Not enough to transfer ownership.
Enough to create ambiguity.
Her phone rang.
Rebecca.
Claire stared at the name.
Marcus nodded.
“Answer.”
Claire put it on speaker.
Rebecca sounded normal.
“Claire, I wanted to update you.”
Claire forced herself to stay calm.
“Okay.”
“I spoke to someone at the lender.”
Samantha’s eyes narrowed.
Claire asked.
“You contacted them?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you told Richard not to.”
“This is different.”
“How?”
Rebecca paused.
“I’m protecting you.”
Claire looked at the note with Rebecca’s name.
Then she asked.
“Rebecca, did you meet Daniel six months ago?”
Silence.
Not long.
But long enough.
Rebecca’s voice changed.
“Who told you that?”
Claire’s heart sank.
Not denial.
A question.
“Did you?”
Rebecca inhaled.
“Claire, there are things you don’t understand.”
Samantha silently wrote on a pad.
KEEP HER TALKING.
Claire asked.
“Then help me understand.”
Rebecca’s answer came quietly.
“I wasn’t working for Daniel.”
Claire stared at the phone.
“I never said you were.”
Another silence.
May you like
And in that silence, Rebecca realized her mistake.
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