For a moment, nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
I could hear the refrigerator humming.<\/p>\n
The clock over the stove ticked once.<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
Then I asked the only question that mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean\u2026it doesn\u2019t match?\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda opened her briefcase again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked the county clerk to pull the recorded deed this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
She removed two documents and laid them side by side on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should be identical.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paula leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey aren\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I adjusted my glasses.<\/p>\n
At first glance, they looked exactly the same.<\/p>\n
My name.<\/p>\n
The property address.<\/p>\n
The legal description.<\/p>\n
Even the date.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Linda pointed to the bottom of the first page.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the copy from your closing file.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she pointed to the second.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the one currently recorded at the county.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colleen gasped.<\/p>\n
The signature looked like mine.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The letters were too smooth.<\/p>\n
Too careful.<\/p>\n
Someone had copied my handwriting.<\/p>\n
Paula looked from one page to the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t sign this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m certain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed you would say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale suddenly laughed.<\/p>\n
Not loudly.<\/p>\n
Just enough to make everyone turn toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re experts on signatures now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Linda replied evenly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re experts on documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
He folded his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe she signed twice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe you forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember signing away the house I lived in for forty-three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
His smile faded.<\/p>\n
Linda reached into the folder again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is another difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pointed halfway down the second page.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis paragraph does not exist in the original.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paula began reading aloud.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Grantor acknowledges that all future financial contributions toward the property are voluntary gifts and create no ownership interest or right of residence.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means whoever signed this document agreed they could never claim any interest in this home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paula looked horrified.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Mom never wanted ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda\u2019s voice grew quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut she did expect honesty.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something cold settle in my stomach.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo someone added that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd recorded it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colleen slammed her hand on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one argued.<\/p>\n
Dale took one careful step backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen that page before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause very few people knew it existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo why did you say \u2018that page\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never said page.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda didn\u2019t blink.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became perfectly still.<\/p>\n
Paula stared at her husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew there was an extra page.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI guessed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just then, Linda\u2019s phone buzzed again.<\/p>\n
This time she answered on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
A man\u2019s voice came through.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda, it\u2019s Frank in Records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found the original submission packet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it complete?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s missing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe page with the forged clause wasn\u2019t part of the packet that came from the title company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where did it come from?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the deed was officially recorded\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026someone inserted that page afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kitchen fell silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere should be a record of who filed it,\u201d Linda said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Paper rustled on the other end of the line.<\/p>\n
Then Frank read the name.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t filed by the title company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t filed by your attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t filed by the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hand-delivered three days later\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026by a woman named Janice Holloway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every eye in the room turned toward Dale.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t deny it.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t speak.<\/p>\n
He simply stared at the photograph on the table.<\/p>\n
Then, almost too quietly to hear, he whispered,<\/p>\n
\u201cShe promised she\u2019d never use my name again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody missed what Dale had just said.<\/p>\n
Not Linda.<\/p>\n
Not Colleen.<\/p>\n
Not Paula.<\/p>\n
And certainly not me.<\/p>\n
He was still staring at the photograph.<\/p>\n
His lips were slightly apart, as if he wished he could pull those last seven words back into his mouth.<\/p>\n
Paula spoke first.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you mean\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026she promised she\u2019d never use your name again?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have said that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already did,\u201d Linda replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked around the kitchen.<\/p>\n
For the first time since this nightmare had begun, he didn\u2019t look angry.<\/p>\n
He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
Twenty years older than he had an hour earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met Janice when I was nineteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy uncle hired me after high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat uncle?\u201d Paula asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother\u2019s older brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold Dawson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda immediately wrote it down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe owned a small bookkeeping business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colleen let out a bitter laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what they called it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI answered phones.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFiled papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDelivered envelopes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMade coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least\u2026that\u2019s what I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda asked quietly,<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you realize something was wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first widow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became perfectly still.<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove Janice to her house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe stayed inside almost two hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she came back\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026she handed me a folder and told me to take it to the courthouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was nineteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was doing my job.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI swear to you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026I had no idea what was inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda folded her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut eventually you found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe newspaper investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same one in the clipping?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI quit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colleen shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ran.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t argue.<\/p>\n
She was right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI left town.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI changed jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never wanted to hear Janice Holloway\u2019s name again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paula stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did she come to our house Thursday night?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
Instead, he looked toward the back door.<\/p>\n
The same door Janice had walked through.<\/p>\n
Linda noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were expecting her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let her inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew exactly who she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
His shoulders slumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause six months ago\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026she found me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words landed like a stone in the middle of the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe walked into the hardware store where I work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI recognized her immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she want?\u201d Paula whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe smiled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same smile she always used.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she said\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
His hands had begun to tremble.<\/p>\n
Linda waited patiently.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice dropped to almost a whisper.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018You\u2019ve done very well for yourself, Dale.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Nice house.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Beautiful wife.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Comfortable life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018It would be a shame if someone remembered 1998.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n
No one even blinked.<\/p>\n
Paula slowly backed away from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was blackmailing you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she wanted money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat then?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted access to this house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every hair on the back of my neck stood up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI swear I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda didn\u2019t take her eyes off him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Dale could answer, the doorbell rang.<\/p>\n
Not the front door.<\/p>\n
The side entrance leading into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Three sharp rings.<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
Through the frosted glass, I could make out the outline of a woman.<\/p>\n
She was carrying a large manila envelope.<\/p>\n
Then her voice came through the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarguerite?\u201d<\/p>\n
It was calm.<\/p>\n
Pleasant.<\/p>\n
Almost cheerful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you\u2019re in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every person in the kitchen froze.<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s face turned completely white.<\/p>\n
Without looking toward the door, he whispered,<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let her in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because the woman standing outside\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2026was Janice Holloway herself.<\/p>\n
PART 7: THE DEED THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST For a moment, nobody spoke. I could hear the refrigerator humming. The clock over the stove ticked once. Twice. Then I asked … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-drama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6324"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6331,"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6324\/revisions\/6331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readviralstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}