Chapter 4 - A Paper Family
By nine the next morning, my attorney, Mara Bennett, was sitting across from me with the forged petition spread over a conference table.
"This isn't an order," she said. "It's an application. A stamp doesn't mean a judge approved anything."
"Can someone take Lily because of it?"
"Not legally. But someone can use a convincing fake to frighten a school or persuade an employee who doesn't check. We're warning everybody."
Mara filed emergency requests for protective orders and contacted the court clerk to verify the case. Detective Park was handling the criminal investigation. Nobody promised an instant fix, which made me trust them more.
I asked why Vanessa wanted guardianship in the first place.
Elena reached into her purse and removed a letter from Hartwell Trust Services. Her late father had left Lily money for college and future medical needs. An independent trustee controlled the funds. Parents couldn't simply withdraw them.
"Vanessa saw the annual statement," Elena said. "She asked me how much was there. I told her it wasn't her business."
"How much?"
"About six hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
I stared at her. "She knows it's protected."
"Ricardo told her a guardian could ask for emergency reimbursements," Mara said. "That doesn't mean the trustee would pay. It means they might try to fool someone with forged invoices."
She pointed to another page. It was a proposed authorization for an expensive residential program, with Elena's signature at the bottom.
Elena leaned closer. "That's not mine."
"And this?" Mara turned the page.
May you like
My stomach dropped. My own name appeared beneath a statement admitting that I could no longer safely care for Lily.
The signature looked exactly like mine.
