Chapter 4 - The First Forgery
Margaret lied.
"No."
Ethan watched her carefully.
"Then what did you do?"
"Updated my will."
"Why?"
"Because I'm seventy-one."
"Seventy-two next month."
"Thank you for reminding me."
He leaned forward.
"Did you change what I'm getting?"
Margaret stared at him.
The Ethan sitting across from her did not seem to notice the cruelty of the question.
Thomas had been dead six years.
Margaret was alive.
And Ethan was already calculating the distribution of her belongings.
"You're worried about my will while I'm eating cake."
"I'm asking because you've been secretive."
"My estate is my business."
"I'm your son."
"Exactly."
He pushed his chair back.
"You know what? Fine."
Ethan stood.
"Do whatever you want."
"I intended to."
He left her at the restaurant.
Margaret paid the bill.
She called Rebecca for a ride.
The next morning, Ethan apologized by text.
Margaret did not answer.
That afternoon, Claire called.
"I need you to come to my office."
"Why?"
"Bring identification."
Margaret heard something in her voice.
"Claire."
"Please don't discuss this over the phone."
Rebecca drove her.
Claire met them in a conference room.
On the table was a copy of a notarized document.
Margaret recognized the address immediately.
Her house.
Claire pushed the paper toward her.
It was a quitclaim deed.
Grantor: Margaret Louise Hale.
Grantee: Hale Residential Holdings LLC.
Consideration: Ten dollars and other valuable consideration.
Margaret read the signature.
Her signature.
Except it was not.
Rebecca stood so abruptly that her chair struck the wall.
"What the hell is this?"
Claire raised one hand.
"The deed has not been recorded."
Margaret looked up.
"How did you get it?"
"A title-company contact called me."
"Why?"
"Because Ethan's company approached them asking about expedited recording and title insurance."
Rebecca swore.
Margaret remained still.
Claire continued.
"The title examiner saw that your property had no mortgage and asked for identification confirmation. Ethan apparently said you were elderly and unable to travel. The examiner became uncomfortable."
"How did she know you?"
"She didn't. But she searched recent public filings for attorney representation, found a prior probate matter with my name attached to you as counsel, and called."
Margaret looked again at the signature.
It was good.
Very good.
"Did Ethan sign this?"
"We don't know."
"Who notarized it?"
Claire pointed.
"Marilyn Phelps."
Rebecca frowned.
"Who is that?"
Margaret knew.
"Vanessa's cousin."
Silence.
Rebecca turned toward Claire.
"Call the police."
Margaret said, "No."
Rebecca stared at her.
"Mom."
"No."
"He forged a deed."
"We don't know that Ethan forged it."
"His company is the recipient."
Margaret looked at Claire.
"What happens if we report this now?"
Claire answered carefully.
"An investigation begins. The title company won't process it. We can notify the town clerk and record an affidavit warning of attempted fraud."
"And Ethan?"
"He'll know we've discovered it."
Margaret folded her hands.
"I want to know what else he's doing."
Rebecca's face tightened.
"Why?"
"Because he didn't start with forgery."
Margaret remembered the groceries.
The assisted-living suggestion.
The missing mail.
The medical authorization.
"He started by trying to make me doubt myself."
Claire said nothing.
Margaret continued.
"If we stop this document, he'll use another."
"Possibly."
"I want to know the whole plan."
Rebecca sat slowly.
"You can't use yourself as bait."
Margaret looked at her daughter.
"I am not bait."
"Then what are you?"
"The owner."
Claire finally spoke.
"We can protect the title without alerting Ethan immediately."
She explained that Margaret could record a notice requiring additional identity verification before any transfer.
The trust documents could be finalized and recorded where appropriate.
The town clerk could be privately alerted through counsel.
Margaret's bank could flag any real-estate lending requests.
They could also preserve evidence.
Rebecca crossed her arms.
"And wait?"
"Watch," Margaret said.
Rebecca hated the idea.
Claire did too.
But Margaret refused to be hidden away while other people decided what should happen to her property.
That evening, Ethan arrived unexpectedly.
He carried a bakery box.
Vanessa followed.
Inside was a small birthday cake.
"Early celebration," Vanessa said brightly.
Margaret looked from one to the other.
"You hate coconut."
Margaret looked at the cake.
It was coconut.
"I do."
Vanessa laughed.
"I always forget."
No, she didn't.
They sat in the dining room.
Ethan was charming.
Vanessa asked about physical therapy.
For twenty minutes, they performed concern.
Then Ethan said, "We're thinking about throwing your birthday here."
Margaret put down her fork.
"Here?"
"Your house," Vanessa said.
"Big family dinner. Everyone together."
Margaret looked at them.
"When?"
"Saturday the fourteenth."
It was the exact day Claire planned to have the final trust documents ready for Margaret's review.
Margaret felt a shift inside her.
Not coincidence.
They knew something.
"Fine," she said.
Ethan seemed surprised.
"Really?"
"Really."
Vanessa smiled.
"We'll handle everything."
"I'm sure you will."
After they left, Margaret called Claire.
"I think my birthday party is going to be the next attempt."
Claire was silent.
Then she asked, "Why?"
May you like
Margaret looked at the coconut cake they had left behind.
"Because they're suddenly being kind."
