Chapter 8 - The Man Who Had the Keys
"Who is Victor Hale?" Detective Ortiz asked Daniel.
"Dad's old business partner," he said. "Mom says he handles investments."
Avery joined the call from a parking lot outside Graybridge Community Bank. "He also owns the company receiving your packing house," she said. "The lender hasn't released funds yet. I've asked for a fraud hold."
"That's good, right?" Daniel asked.
"It buys us time. It doesn't make the documents disappear."
I watched my husband rub his forehead. He'd driven our orchard delivery trucks through blizzards, negotiated contracts while sick, and rebuilt a conveyor motor with his bare hands. I'd never seen him look this helpless.
"I thought she was protecting Dad's legacy," he said.
"Then let's find out what she was protecting," Avery replied.
Ruth called a minute later. Daniel put her on speaker but said nothing.
"You have to stop that lawyer," she began. "Victor says you're making an expensive mistake."
"Mom, Mariana almost died."
A silence. Then: "She's alive, isn't she?"
I stared at the phone. Daniel's expression went blank.
"So is your granddaughter," he said quietly. "She's fighting for every breath, and that's what you have to say?"
"I didn't know how serious it was."
"You took her phone."
"She was threatening to ruin everything."
"Everything what?"
Ruth's voice lowered. "If the bank doesn't clear the money today, people will lose their jobs. Is that what your wife wants?"
"Don't use the workers as a shield," I said. "Tell us why you forged my name."
"That is a filthy accusation."
"Then come to the hospital and tell the detective."
Ruth hung up.
Avery called again an hour later. "The lender sent me the notary page. It's worse than we thought. Your signatures were supposedly witnessed together at nine yesterday morning."
"Yesterday at nine?" I said.
"Yes."
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I looked at Daniel. At nine yesterday morning, I'd been undergoing an ultrasound at a clinic forty miles away.
And the clinic had security cameras.
