Chapter 2: The Signature That Wasn't Mine
Daniel Brooks arrived at 8:17 p.m.
He was a tall man in his early sixties, with silver hair, a dark navy suit, and a leather briefcase that looked older than I was.
I'd met him twice when I was younger.
He had attended my mother's funeral and once sent me a birthday card with a handwritten message about staying curious and working hard.
I hadn't understood why he remembered me.
Now I was beginning to.
He entered the living room without taking off his coat.
"Marcus.""
"Daniel. Thank you for coming.""
Daniel glanced at Vanessa.
Then at Tyler.
"Is this everyone?""
Dad nodded.
"Yes.""
Daniel placed his briefcase on the dining table.
"Emma, I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances.""
I pulled out a chair.
"Can someone please tell me what happened to my mother's money?""
He opened his briefcase.
"That's precisely what we're going to establish.""
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"Before you start making accusations, I want to clarify something. I was responsible for maintaining this household's financial records. I had legitimate access to certain accounts.""
Daniel looked at her calmly.
"Access to household records doesn't automatically grant authority over a beneficiary's trust.""
She scoffed.
"Well, I didn't know you were going to interpret everything so aggressively.""
Daniel removed a folder.
"Mrs. Miller, I don't interpret financial documents aggressively. I read them.""
He placed three sheets of paper in front of Dad.
"These are the original trust provisions, the withdrawal request, and the bank's authorization record.""
I leaned forward.
The first document had my mother's signature.
The second had a signature that looked almost exactly like mine.
My stomach tightened.
"That's my name.""
Daniel nodded.
"Yes.""
I looked closer.
The signature read Emma Rebecca Miller.
But there was something wrong.
My signature had always been slightly uneven. The E in Emma usually leaned forward, and I crossed the final stroke of my M too high.
This signature was too neat.
Too controlled.
"I didn't sign that.""
Vanessa immediately interrupted.
"How can you be sure? It was a long time ago.""
"Because I was eighteen, not a hundred.""
Daniel raised one hand.
"Let her finish.""
I picked up the document.
"Where was this signed?""
"According to the record, at a local notary office," Daniel replied.
"I've never been there.""
Dad looked at Vanessa.
"Did you take Emma to a notary?""
Vanessa shook her head.
"Not that I remember.""
"Then why is her signature on this document?""
"Maybe she signed it and forgot.""
I stared at her.
"You expect me to believe I signed away my mother's inheritance and forgot?""
She shrugged.
"You're always busy. You work too much. It's possible.""
Daniel carefully took the document back.
"There's another issue.""
He opened the authorization record.
"The signature wasn't the only thing used to approve the withdrawal. The request included a copy of Emma's identification and a verification code sent to a phone number ending in 4821.""
I frowned.
"That's not my number.""
Dad looked up.
"Whose number is it?""
Daniel checked his notes.
"It was registered to a prepaid phone account.""
Vanessa's face remained still.
Tyler, however, suddenly looked toward the kitchen.
Dad noticed.
"Tyler?""
"What?""
"Do you know that number?""
"No.""
"Look at me when you answer.""
Tyler shifted his weight.
"I said no.""
Daniel continued.
"The trust withdrawal was processed eleven months ago. Seventy-four thousand five hundred dollars went into an account under Vanessa's name.""
Vanessa sighed.
"Yes, we already established that.""
"But that wasn't the first transaction.""
He placed another sheet on the table.
"Three weeks earlier, eighteen thousand dollars was transferred from the trust into an account belonging to Tyler.""
Tyler's head snapped up.
"What?""
Vanessa turned toward him.
"Tyler, don't.""
I stared at him.
"You got eighteen thousand dollars from my mother's trust?""
He shook his head.
"I didn't know where it came from.""
Daniel looked at him.
"Your bank statement lists the sender as the Rebecca Miller Education Trust.""
Tyler's mouth opened.
Then closed.
I felt sick.
"Why would you take money from my college fund?""
He looked at Vanessa.
"Mom said it was a family gift.""
Dad stood up.
"An education trust is not a family gift.""
Tyler rubbed the back of his neck.
"I didn't ask for it.""
"Did you spend it?"" I asked.
He didn't answer.
"Tyler!""
"Some of it.""
"How much?""
He stared at the floor.
"Most.""
I gripped the edge of the chair.
"What did you buy?""
He finally looked up.
"Equipment for my business. A laptop. Some clothes. I paid off a credit card.""
I almost laughed.
I had worked hundreds of hours to save enough for tuition.
He had spent eighteen thousand dollars of my inheritance on clothes and a business that apparently didn't exist.
Daniel took out another page.
"There's also a transfer to a dealership.""
I looked at the amount.
"$36,800.""
The same amount as the BMW.
"That was the college savings account," I said.
Daniel nodded.
"Correct. The transaction was made yesterday, but the funds originated from the trust distribution.""
My hands went cold.
"So the trust was emptied, and then Vanessa used the money to buy the BMW?""
"That's what the available records suggest.""
Vanessa finally lost her composure.
"This is ridiculous. The money was sitting in accounts while Tyler and I needed help. Marcus agreed that I could manage things.""
Dad stared at her.
"Stop putting my name on decisions I never approved.""
"I was trying to help your family!""
"You stole from my daughter.""
"She's your daughter!"" Vanessa shouted.
"Everything in this house is built around her!""
I blinked.
"What?""
Vanessa pointed at me.
"Every conversation. Every decision. Every dollar.
Rebecca this, Rebecca that. You never let this family move forward because you're still living in the past.""
Dad stepped between us.
"Don't you dare use Rebecca's name to justify what you've done.""
Vanessa's eyes filled with angry tears.
"Do you know how hard it was living with a ghost in this house?""
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then she continued.
"You kept Rebecca's photographs everywhere. Her furniture. Her stupid little decorations. Even the kitchen still looked like she was going to walk back through the door.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Those were my mother's things.""
"And I was supposed to pretend I was happy living in someone else's life?""
Dad's voice was quiet.
"You knew who I was when you married me.""
Vanessa looked away.
Daniel closed the folder.
"Personal grievances are irrelevant to the financial records. We need to establish exactly how the authorization was obtained.""
He turned to me.
"Emma, do you have access to your old emails?""
"Yes.""
"Can you search for messages from the bank around the date of the trust withdrawal?""
I took out my phone and opened my email.
The search results appeared.
There was a notification from eleven months earlier.
*Important: Your Financial Profile Has Been Updated.*
I tapped it.
The email stated that my contact information had been changed.
My phone number had been replaced with the prepaid number ending in 4821.
I stared at the screen.
"I never changed this.""
Daniel leaned over.
"Forward that email to me.""
I did.
He examined it, then looked at Dad.
"That explains how the verification code was intercepted.""
Vanessa suddenly stood.
"I've had enough of this.""
Dad didn't move.
"Sit down.""
"I'm going upstairs.""
"You're not leaving until we finish.""
She grabbed her handbag.
"You're not my father, Marcus.""
"No. But I am Emma's father, and I've spent the last eleven months believing her inheritance was safe.""
Vanessa turned toward the stairs.
Then Daniel spoke.
"One more thing, Mrs. Miller.""
She stopped.
"The notary listed on this document has already been contacted.""
Her shoulders stiffened.
"What?""
"He has no record of witnessing Emma sign the authorization.""
Vanessa slowly turned around.
Daniel continued.
"According to his office, the stamp on this document was copied from an unrelated form.""
Dad's face drained of color.
I looked at the signature again.
It wasn't just unauthorized.
Someone had forged it.
And when I looked at Vanessa, I noticed she wasn't surprised.
She was angry.
Not confused.
Not shocked.
Angry that we'd found out.
Daniel gathered the papers.
"Marcus, I recommend that you contact the bank first thing tomorrow morning, request an immediate investigation, and preserve every relevant communication. I will handle the trust documentation.""
Then he looked at Vanessa.
"Any attempt to move additional money could make this situation considerably worse.""
She said nothing.
After Daniel left, Dad sat across from me.
"Emma, I'm sorry.""
I stared at him.
"How long did you know Mom left me money?""
He rubbed his forehead.
"I knew about the trust. I thought the money was still protected.""
"You never told me?""
"I wanted to wait until you were eighteen. Then Vanessa said the attorney had already explained everything and that the trust was being managed.""
I swallowed.
"Why did you believe her?""
He looked devastated.
"Because I trusted my wife.""
I looked toward the staircase.
Vanessa had disappeared upstairs.
Tyler remained in the living room, staring at the BMW keys.
For the first time, he looked less like a spoiled rich kid and more like someone realizing he'd been handed something he wasn't supposed to have.
But there was still one question.
"Why did Mom leave instructions specifically about someone stealing the money?""
Dad looked at me.
"I don't know.""
"Did she suspect Vanessa?""
He shook his head.
"Your mother wrote those instructions before Vanessa and I even met.""
I went completely still.
Before Vanessa?
Then who had Mom been worried about?
Dad walked over to the cabinet and opened a drawer.
He removed an old envelope with my name written across the front.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
My mother's.
"She asked me to give you this when you were ready," he said.
I took it with trembling fingers.
Inside was a single folded letter.
May you like
The first sentence made my heart stop.
My sweet Emma, if you're reading this, someone has already tried to take what I worked so hard to protect.
