Chapter 3 - My Signature
I forgot about the pain in my hand.
"Those aren't mine."
Charles nodded. "I know."
Ryan grabbed one of the statements.
"This has nothing to do with me."
I looked at the signature at the bottom of the loan authorization.
Emily Bennett.
It looked like mine.
Almost.
The E leaned too far forward. The second t in Bennett curved the wrong way.
I had seen that handwriting before.
On Christmas cards Ryan signed for both of us when he was too lazy to ask me.
I looked up.
"You forged my name."
His face changed for half a second.
Then anger covered it.
"Don't be ridiculous."
"You practiced my signature for years."
Diane jumped in. "Emily, you're upset. You burned yourself. You're not thinking clearly."
I turned toward her.
"You slapped me into the table."
"It was a tap."
Charles gave a humorless laugh. "The security camera will settle that."
Diane froze.
Ryan's eyes moved toward the corner of the room.
There was a small camera above the wine cabinet. Charles had installed cameras after a break-in two years earlier.
"Dad," Ryan said carefully, "don't turn this into some criminal circus."
"You already did."
Charles pulled a flash drive from his pocket.
"I copied six months of account records this afternoon. Someone has been borrowing against property they don't own and routing the money through shell companies."
My stomach dropped.
"Whose companies?"
Charles looked at Ryan.
"Ask your husband about North Ridge Consulting."
I knew that name.
I had seen it on a bank alert three months ago. Ryan had told me it was a vendor.
"Ryan?"
He pushed away from the table.
"I'm not doing this."
Charles stepped between him and the door.
"Sit down."
Ryan laughed. "Or what?"
Charles held up his phone.
"Or I send the evidence to the bank's fraud department and the police tonight."
Diane's voice sharpened.
"Charles, think about what you're doing to our son."
He looked at her.
"I'm thinking about what our son did to Emily."
Then my phone buzzed.
May you like
A new email appeared from a lender I had never heard of.
SUBJECT: FINAL NOTICE - FORECLOSURE PROCEEDINGS.
