Chapter 2 - My Signature
I met Sophia forty minutes later in a coffee shop three suburbs away.
She wore a loose gray sweater over her stomach and kept checking the windows.
The moment I sat down, she slid six pages across the table.
My name appeared on page one.
EVELYN VANCE - CONSENTING HOUSEHOLD GUARDIAN.
"I have never seen this," I said.
Sophia swallowed. "Lukas said you signed electronically."
The signature looked like mine.
Not close. Not similar. Mine.
I turned the page.
The agreement said that if Sophia became "temporarily unable to provide care," the child could reside with Lukas and me for an indefinite period. Another paragraph authorized a family attorney named Peter Voller to file emergency custody paperwork.
"Did you read this before you signed?" I asked.
"He gave me only the last page."
My phone buzzed.
Lukas: WHERE ARE YOU?
I turned it face down.
Sophia wiped her eyes. "I know what this looks like."
"It looks like you slept with my husband."
She flinched.
"Yes."
"And it looks like he lied to you too."
She nodded.
That mattered, but it did not erase anything.
I photographed every page and emailed copies to myself.
Then I noticed a footer.
VANCE FAMILY CONTINUITY TRUST - EXHIBIT C.
"What is that?" Sophia asked.
"I don't know."
I searched the phrase.
Nothing public appeared.
Sophia reached into her purse and removed a bank receipt.
"He sends me money every month. I thought it was for medical costs."
The sender was not Lukas.
It was Vance Verwaltungs Holdings LLC.
His family's private company.
"How much?"
"Five thousand a month."
My phone rang again.
This time it was Ingrid.
I answered.
She spoke in English.
"Evelyn, Lukas says you're upset. Come to the house. We should talk like adults."
I looked at Sophia.
"Of course," I said.
Then Ingrid switched to German, thinking she had covered the phone.
"Make sure Peter gets the fertility file before she comes."
I stopped breathing.
May you like
Fertility file.
Mine.
