Chapter 16 - THE DOCUMENT THAT COULD STEAL MY NAMEMy forged signature appeared on a paper purporting to appoint Carlos as my representative for the home. It had been created while I was overseas, on a date when my unit could confirm I was thousands of miles from the notary who supposedly watched me sign.
"This helps establish the fraud," Eleanor said. "We can get deployment records."
"They used my service against me."
"Then let the records speak."
By now I was sleeping in the old guest room at Mom's house, with her permission, while she recovered nearby with June checking in daily. There were locks to replace and bills to review, but the house was still hers. She chose the color for the kitchen paint herself: yellow, bright as morning.
One afternoon she asked me to bring down the wedding album. She opened it to a picture of Lorena smiling beside her at the reception.
"I loved her," Mom said.
"I know."
"That's what makes this so hard. She didn't just take my things. She made me doubt my own memory."
We sat without speaking. Then Mom closed the album and placed it on a high shelf.
"I want the rest of my days to belong to me," she said.
The next morning, Chen called. Carlos had contacted a lawyer and offered to cooperate. Investigators arranged a formal interview. I expected relief.
Instead Chen warned me, "Carlos claims Lorena kept the original paper trail and plans to destroy it."
"Where?"
"He says there's a storage unit under a false name."
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A few minutes later, smoke was reported at a storage facility outside town.
The unit number matched Carlos's description.
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