Chapter 2 - The First Forged Signature
Claire printed the loan documents at a library across town.
The signature at the bottom resembled hers, but the angle of the C was wrong. Victor had copied it from an old property agreement.
The loan totaled 1.8 million dollars.
The collateral was the house her father had left her.
Claire felt sick, but she did not confront Victor.
Instead, she contacted Naomi Reed, an attorney who had once worked with Claire’s father.
Naomi studied the documents in silence.
“This is fraud,” she finally said.
“Can we stop the loan?”
“Possibly. But if Victor forged this himself, one loan may only be the beginning.”
Claire folded her hands tightly.
“What should I do?”
“Act normally. Preserve everything. Emails, messages, photographs, bank statements. Do not access anything illegally. Only collect records you are entitled to see.”
Naomi leaned forward.
“And do not warn him.”
That night, Victor arrived home after midnight.
He smelled of expensive perfume.
Claire was sitting at the kitchen table with an open cookbook.
“Still awake?” he asked.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“You should find a hobby.”
He kissed the top of her head as if she were a child and walked upstairs.
Claire waited until the bedroom door closed.
Then she photographed the restaurant receipt that had fallen from his pocket.
Dinner for two.
Two bottles of wine.
A hotel suite charged to a company card.
The name handwritten beside the reservation was Olivia.
Over the next several weeks, Claire discovered that Olivia Mercer was not merely Victor’s lover. She was a consultant recently hired by Hale Development.
Her salary was higher than that of several senior managers combined.
She had no construction experience.
She did, however, have access to company accounts.
Claire added every record to the DAWN folder.
May you like
Each new discovery hurt, but the pain soon became something colder.
Purpose.
