Chapter 6 - THE DATE THAT SHOULDN’T EXIST
I stared at that date.
June 14th.
Elena had died on June 11th.
Three days later, she had supposedly signed this paper.
My breath caught in my throat. I read it again. Then again.
The signature was perfect. The looping way she wrote her E. The slight slant of her handwriting. The way she always dotted the i with a tiny circle. It was unmistakably her.
But she had been dead.
I walked to the window. Julian Vance was walking down the driveway. He moved with calm, unhurried steps. He didn’t look back.
If this paper was dated after her death… then either the date was wrong… or Elena’s death had been a lie.
Or someone had faked her signature. Someone who knew it perfectly. Someone who had access to her things.
I pulled out my phone and called Clara. She was upstairs with Lily.
“Clara! Can you come down? Quickly!”
She appeared in the doorway within minutes. She saw my face and hurried forward.
“Adrian? What is wrong?”
I held out the paper. “Look at this. Look at the date.”
Clara took it. Her eyes widened. She brought the paper closer to her face. Her hands began to tremble.
“That is impossible,” she whispered. “Elena was already gone. I was with you. We were at the hospital. She died in your arms.”
“I know,” I said. “But this… this is her signature. Exactly. How is that possible?”
Clara turned the paper over. She ran her fingers along the edges. Then she looked up, her expression terrified.
“It is a very good copy,” she said. “But it is not her. Elena always signed her full name. This one… this one is missing her middle initial. Look. E.M. Carter. Elena signed E.M.L. Carter. Always.”
I looked closer.
She was right.
The difference was tiny. Almost invisible. But it was there.
Julian Vance had brought me a forgery.
And he had been so confident. So calm. As if he knew I wouldn’t notice. As if he expected me to be too shocked, too grieving, to check the details.
“He is lying,” I said. “Everything he said. All of it. He came here to frighten me. To plant doubt. To make me question Elena. To make me doubt whether Lily is truly mine.”
Clara folded the paper carefully.
“He is dangerous, Adrian. A man who brings forged documents… who makes threats under the guise of a warning… he will not stop at this.”
I thought about everything Julian had said. Marcus. The engagement. The reason Elena died.
“Clara… did Elena ever mention a man named Marcus?”
Clara hesitated.
“Clara. Please. Whatever you know… tell me.”
She nodded slowly.
“She mentioned the name once. Shortly before she died. She said… if anything happens to me, be careful of Marcus. He will come for Lily. But she never said who he was. She never said how he was connected to her. And then… she was gone.”
“So Marcus is real,” I said. “And Julian… Julian is working with him. Or for him.”
Clara looked toward the window.
“Julian Vance… that name. It sounds familiar. I think I heard it once. Years ago. From Elena. She said… Julian is the worst of them. He wears a suit and speaks softly. But he is more dangerous than all the rest put together.”
A cold realization settled over me.
Julian hadn’t come to warn me.
He had come to test me. To see what I knew. To see what Elena had told me. And he had failed. Because I had noticed the forgery. Because Clara had seen it.
Which meant he would be back. And next time… he wouldn’t come alone.
“I need to go out,” I said, standing up. “I need to find out who these people really are. And I need to find out what truly happened to Elena.”
Clara gripped my arm.
“Be careful, Adrian. If Julian is who I think he is… he has eyes everywhere. Do not trust anyone. Not the police. Not lawyers. Not even friends. Until you know exactly who you are fighting… trust no one but us.”
I nodded. I walked to Lily’s room. I opened the door quietly. She was sitting on her bed, reading. She looked up and smiled when she saw me.
“Daddy?”
I walked over and knelt beside her. I took both her hands in mine.
“Lily… Clara is going to stay here with you while I’m gone. Do not let anyone in. No one. Not even if they say they know me. Not even if they say they know Mommy. Understood?”
Lily looked at me with wide, serious eyes.
“Is it the bad man?” she whispered. “The one Vanessa talked about?”
My heart clenched.
“Just promise me you will stay inside. With Clara. And you will be safe. I will come back as fast as I can.”
Lily leaned forward and hugged me tight.
“I’ll be safe, Daddy. I promise. And I’ll keep Mommy’s locket safe too.”
I pulled back. “What locket?”
Lily pulled something from beneath her shirt. Something small. Silver. Glinting in the light.
My breath caught in my throat.
It was Elena’s locket. The one that was supposed to be buried with her.
May you like
“Where did you get that?” I asked, my voice barely working.
“Mommy gave it to me,” Lily said simply. “The night before she went away. She said… she said to keep it safe. And never let anyone take it. Especially not a man named Julian.”
