Chapter 3
For a moment, nobody moved.
I stared at Vanessa.
"What money?"
She smiled as though she'd finally found a way to hurt me.
"The money you and Daniel spent your whole lives saving."
My knees almost buckled.
Marcus grabbed her shoulders.
"What are you talking about?"
Vanessa pushed him away.
"Stop pretending you don't know anything!"
"I don't know what you're saying!"
I turned toward Officer Bennett.
"I need to contact my attorney."
He nodded.
"That's a good idea."
I pulled out my phone and called Rachel Morgan, the attorney who had handled Daniel's estate.
She answered immediately.
"Evelyn? Is everything all right?"
"No."
My voice sounded strangely calm.
"I think someone has been using my identity."
Rachel became serious.
"What happened?"
I explained the home equity application and the envelope in Vanessa's handbag.
When I mentioned the law firm's logo, Rachel went silent.
"Evelyn, our office didn't send Vanessa any original estate documents."
"Then how did she get that envelope?"
"I don't know. But I want you to preserve everything you have."
I looked toward Vanessa.
She was arguing with Marcus again.
"Rachel, they may have taken money."
"Do not assume anything yet. Come to my office. We'll review the records immediately."
I ended the call.
Marcus turned toward me.
"Mom, please don't involve lawyers."
I stared at him.
"Your wife just said my money is gone."
"She's exaggerating."
"How would you know?"
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me enough.
I stepped closer.
"Marcus, did you sign anything?"
He rubbed his face.
"Some paperwork."
"What paperwork?"
"Vanessa said we needed to refinance."
"You cannot refinance a property you don't own."
He looked miserable.
"She said the trust gave me authority."
I shook my head.
"No, son. It didn't."
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"Maybe your husband should have thought about that before leaving everything to a teenager."
I looked at her.
"My husband died believing his family would take care of one another."
She rolled her eyes.
"Well, he was wrong."
Something inside me hardened.
For months, I'd blamed myself for the distance growing between Marcus and me.
I'd wondered whether I'd been too controlling.
Too stubborn.
Too unwilling to accept his marriage.
Now I understood that kindness had been mistaken for weakness.
And I was finished allowing it.
I collected my suitcase and entered my home.
Marcus followed me.
"Mom, wait."
I stopped in the entrance hall.
The family photographs were gone.
The framed picture of Olivia holding baby Maya had disappeared from the wall.
Daniel's favorite wooden clock was missing.
Even the small table he'd built for our thirtieth anniversary had been replaced.
I looked around in disbelief.
"Where are my things?"
Marcus swallowed.
"Vanessa redecorated."
"Where are the photographs?"
"In storage."
"Where?"
He didn't answer.
I walked toward the living room.
Our old piano was gone.
The cabinet containing my mother's china had disappeared.
The embroidered blanket Olivia had made during her final year of college was nowhere to be seen.
My chest tightened.
I turned toward Vanessa.
"What did you do with my belongings?"
She lifted her chin.
"We sold some outdated furniture."
I stared at her.
"You sold my things?"
"They were taking up space."
I felt tears burning behind my eyes.
That piano had belonged to Daniel's mother.
The china had survived three generations.
The blanket was one of the last things Olivia had made before the accident that took her life.
I could barely breathe.
Marcus looked around the room.
"Vanessa, you said you put everything in storage."
She shrugged.
"Some things weren't worth keeping."
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I slowly took a breath.
"Every item you sold will be accounted for."
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"Good luck proving anything."
I looked at her.
"I intend to."
That afternoon, I met Rachel at her office.
She had already begun reviewing the property records.
The first thing she showed me was the deed.
My name remained the only recorded owner's name.
No legitimate transfer had occurred.
Then she opened another file.
"Evelyn, there was an attempted financing transaction."
My stomach tightened.
"How much?"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
I gripped the armrest.
"Was it approved?"
"The lender rejected the application after identifying inconsistencies in the ownership documents."
I exhaled.
Then Rachel continued.
"But there's something else."
She showed me a scanned document.
It was titled Limited Power of Attorney.
My name appeared at the bottom.
The signature looked almost exactly like mine.
Almost.
I leaned closer.
"I didn't sign this."
Rachel nodded.
"That's what I suspected."
The document supposedly authorized Marcus to manage certain property and financial matters on my behalf.
But I had never given him that authority.
Someone had forged my signature.
Rachel pointed to the notarization section.
The notary seal belonged to a person who had retired two years earlier.
My hands began trembling.
"Who submitted this?"
Rachel hesitated.
"According to the lender's records, Vanessa."
I closed my eyes.
The house wasn't enough.
They had tried to steal my legal identity.
I looked at Rachel.
"Can they be prosecuted?"
"Potentially, yes. But we need a complete investigation."
I nodded.
"Then start one."
Rachel leaned forward.
"Evelyn, there's something important I need to ask."
"What?"
"Did you recently withdraw money from your savings account?"
I frowned.
"No."
"Not even for medical expenses?"
"My sister helped me with those."
Rachel turned her computer toward me.
A bank statement filled the screen.
Three withdrawals had been made during my recovery.
Twenty thousand dollars.
Thirty-five thousand dollars.
Then forty thousand more.
I stared at the numbers.
Ninety-five thousand dollars.
Gone.
My hands went cold.
"That can't be right."
Rachel's expression was grave.
"We need to contact the bank immediately."
I thought about Vanessa's words.
The money is already gone.
Suddenly, they made sense.
Someone hadn't merely tried to take my house.
Someone had already taken my savings.
My entire emergency fund.
The money Daniel and I had spent decades building.
I covered my mouth.
Rachel gently placed a hand over mine.
"We will investigate this, Evelyn."
I nodded, struggling to breathe.
Then my phone rang.
It was my sister, Margaret.
Her voice shook.
"Evelyn, you need to come here."
"What happened?"
"It's Maya."
My heart stopped.
"What about her?"
Margaret began crying.
"She found something in Marcus's old bedroom."
I stood so quickly that my chair nearly fell backward.
"What did she find?"
Margaret took a trembling breath.
"A photograph of Vanessa with a man you've never met."
I frowned.
"Who?"
May you like
Then she whispered the words that changed everything.
"The man is the notary whose signature appears on your forged documents."
