Chapter 4 - THE FORGERY
I stared at those two letters for what felt like hours.
M.C.
Marcus’s initials. Right there, next to a signature that looked just like mine, on a document that moved half a million dollars from Sophie’s trust into an account no one recognized.
I leaned back slowly, my head spinning.
It couldn’t be.
My brother. My own flesh and blood. The man who had stood beside me at my wedding to Claire. The man who held Sophie when she was a newborn.
But Claire had warned me. Watch everyone. Even family.
And Vanessa had called Marcus first. Not anyone else.
I grabbed my phone and called the lawyer Claire had used to set up the trust. An older man named Mr. Henderson, someone she had trusted completely.
He answered groggily.
“Adrian? It’s very early.”
“I need to ask you something,” I said. “About the amendments to Sophie’s trust. The ones dated six months before Claire died.”
Silence on the line.
“Adrian… where did you get those documents?”
“From Claire. She left them for me. Hidden away.”
Mr. Henderson sighed.
“I never prepared those amendments. Claire came to me once, very upset. She said someone had sent her copies of documents that looked like my work. She asked me to examine them. I told her they were forgeries. Perfect forgeries. But forgeries nonetheless.”
My stomach dropped.
“Did she know who did it?”
“She suspected someone close to the family. Someone who knew enough about your affairs to pull it off. She said she would handle it herself. She told me to tell no one. Not even you. She said if anything happened to her… to wait. That she had left proof where no one would think to look.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“She hid it in a teddy bear.”
Mr. Henderson paused.
“That sounds exactly like something she would do. She said the safest place was where no adult would ever look.”
“Who did she suspect?” I asked again.
“She never gave me a name. Only said that whoever was doing this… was someone you loved. Someone you would never believe capable of betrayal. She said she needed time to gather absolute proof before confronting them. Because once she did… everything would fall apart.”
Everything would fall apart.
That was what Marcus had said too. Once you say these things… you can never take them back.
I ended the call and sat there in the quiet kitchen. Sunlight was streaming through the windows now, bright and warm, but I felt cold all the way to my bones.
Marcus had access to my signature. He had access to our files. He had worked with Mr. Henderson on family business for years. He knew every detail of how our affairs were arranged.
And he was the one Vanessa called when she was caught.
A terrible thought occurred to me.
Had Vanessa and Marcus been working together?
Had she married me to get close to Claire’s things? Had she been searching that bear for months on his orders?
I stood up and walked to the desk where I kept the USB drive. I pulled it out and slipped it into my pocket. Then I walked to Sophie’s room and looked in on her. She was still sleeping, clutching the torn bear to her chest.
I would not let anyone hurt her. Not family. Not strangers. Not anyone.
I pulled out my phone and typed one message to Marcus.
*I need to see you. At the law office. Tomorrow morning. Bring identification. And bring every document you have ever signed regarding Claire’s estate or Sophie’s trust. We are comparing signatures.*
I hit send before I could change my mind.
His reply came almost instantly.
*Adrian, don’t do this. Not like this. Family handles family matters privately.*
I typed back.
*The time for privacy ended when someone tried to steal from my daughter. Be there. Or I bring the police to you.*
Three dots appeared, disappeared, appeared again. Then:
*You are making a terrible mistake. Claire would be ashamed of you. She would never believe this of me.*
I stared at those words.
Claire would never believe this of me.
Or would she?
Because Claire had known. Claire had suspected. Claire had hidden proof away and told me to trust no one. Not even him.
I typed one final line.
*Claire left proof. Be there. And tell me the truth. Before I have to show it to everyone.*
I turned off the phone then. I walked to the window and looked out at the quiet street.
Tomorrow I would face my brother.
May you like
Tomorrow I would ask him to his face whether he had stolen from his own niece. Whether he had helped Vanessa hurt Sophie. Whether he had betrayed us all.
And whatever answer he gave… nothing in my life would ever be the same again.
