Chapter 13 - The Attorney's Secret
Rebecca did not hang up.
That surprised Claire.
Instead, her voice became tired.
“I can explain.”
Claire glanced at Samantha.
Samantha nodded.
“Then explain.”
Rebecca sighed.
“Richard approached me eight months ago.”
Claire felt her anger rise.
“Why?”
“He said he wanted to protect Ethan if the business failed.”
“Protect him from what?”
“Personal guarantees.”
“So you knew.”
“Not everything.”
Claire almost laughed.
“That sentence has become very popular today.”
Rebecca continued.
“Richard asked whether Ethan’s contributions to your home created any legal interest.”
“And what did you say?”
“I said possibly, depending on facts.”
“There were no contributions.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You represented me.”
“I represented you on estate planning matters.”
“You knew the house was inherited.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Ethan never paid toward the purchase.”
“Yes.”
“Then what contributions were you discussing?”
“Renovations.”
Claire thought about the kitchen remodel.
Ethan had done much of the labor himself.
Claire paid for materials from an inheritance account.
Rebecca knew that too.
“Did you tell Richard he could use that against me?”
“No.”
“Then why is language about Ethan’s contributions inside my estate documents?”
Rebecca went silent again.
Claire felt betrayal settling into a deeper place.
“I asked you a question.”
“I was trying to keep options open.”
“For who?”
Rebecca sounded frustrated.
“For everybody.”
“That is not how representing me works.”
Samantha wrote another note.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
Rebecca continued.
“I thought the marriage was unstable.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“Because Richard told you?”
“He said Ethan was considering leaving.”
“He was considering leaving because your friend Daniel was feeding him lies.”
“Daniel is not my friend.”
“Then why did you meet him?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“He asked questions about the deed.”
“And you answered?”
“General questions.”
“Did you give him documents?”
“No.”
Claire looked at Marcus.
He remained expressionless.
“Did you give him copies of my signature?”
Rebecca snapped.
“Absolutely not.”
That was the first immediate denial.
Claire believed she meant it.
But something was still wrong.
“Then what does ‘document access confirmed’ mean?”
Rebecca went silent.
Claire heard movement on the other end.
Papers.
A chair.
Then Rebecca whispered.
“Oh no.”
“What?”
“I thought that meant lender documents.”
Claire’s skin prickled.
“Rebecca.”
“Daniel asked whether your estate file included original signatures.”
Claire stood.
“What did you tell him?”
“That it did.”
Claire shut her eyes.
“You told him where to find signature samples.”
“I didn’t know what he was doing.”
“But you told him.”
“Yes.”
The word came small.
Claire turned away.
Rebecca continued quickly.
“I never authorized copying.”
“You gave him access?”
“No.”
Then another hesitation.
“My assistant may have.”
Samantha leaned forward.
“What assistant?”
Rebecca heard the unfamiliar voice.
“Who is that?”
Claire ignored the question.
“What is your assistant’s name?”
Rebecca did not answer.
Claire already knew the name.
She had seen him at the office.
Young.
Polite.
Usually carrying files between conference rooms.
But Samantha wanted it spoken.
“Rebecca.”
Finally.
“Daniel.”
The room froze.
Claire stared at the phone.
“Daniel Cross works for you?”
“Part-time document contractor.”
Megan whispered.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Rebecca sounded panicked now.
“He also consults for Richard.”
“So he had access to my attorney file.”
“Yes.”
“And my signature.”
“Possibly.”
“And my deed.”
“Scanned copies.”
“And my guardianship documents.”
“Yes.”
Claire lowered herself into a chair.
The entire scheme suddenly required far less sophistication than she imagined.
Daniel did not need to break into anything at first.
Claire’s own attorney had opened the door.
Rebecca started apologizing.
Claire stopped her.
“Do not contact me again.”
“Claire.”
“No.”
“I can fix this.”
Claire almost laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
She ended the call.
Samantha immediately began drafting notices to preserve records.
Marcus contacted the appropriate authorities.
Megan sat quietly beside Claire.
Then Claire’s phone vibrated.
A new message from Ethan.
I FOUND DANIEL’S SECOND EMAIL ACCOUNT.
Claire opened the screenshots.
One subject line appeared repeatedly.
BENNETT EXIT PLAN.
But the sender was not Daniel.
May you like
It was Linda.
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