Chapter 6
I stared at Robert.
"Authorized representative?"
He nodded.
"That's what the inquiry claims."
"But Ethan isn't authorized to sell my home."
"I know."
Ethan stepped forward.
"I never told anyone I was."
Robert looked at him carefully.
"Did you sign a power of attorney?"
"No."
"Anything giving Madison or Victor permission to handle your mother's affairs?"
"Absolutely not."
Robert lowered his phone.
"Then someone may be misrepresenting the situation."
I sat down.
The room felt too small.
My son's wedding had been postponed.
My future daughter-in-law had assaulted me.
And now someone appeared to be using my family's names to arrange a property transaction I knew nothing about.
I wanted to go home.
But suddenly even home didn't feel entirely safe.
Robert noticed.
"Claire, we'll secure the situation."
"How?"
"By confirming the status of the title, alerting the relevant parties to the disputed documents, and involving investigators if necessary."
Ethan began pacing.
"I can't believe this."
I watched him.
"Did Madison ever ask you for copies of my identification?"
He stopped.
"She asked for Dad's estate paperwork."
My stomach sank.
"When?"
"About a month ago."
"What did you give her?"
"Only what I had."
"Ethan."
He looked ashamed.
"The copies you gave me after Dad died."
I remembered the folder.
Daniel's will.
Some old insurance information.
Documents Robert had prepared so Ethan could understand how the estate had been settled.
Nothing that authorized any property transfer.
But those documents contained personal information.
Robert's jaw tightened.
"We need to know exactly what was shared."
Ethan nodded.
"I'll send you everything."
A voice sounded at the door.
"You don't have to."
Madison stood there.
Her wedding dress still looked beautiful.
Her makeup had begun to run.
But there was nothing broken about the expression on her face.
She looked furious.
"I know what you're doing," she said.
I stood.
"What am I doing?"
"Turning Ethan against me."
"No, Madison. I'm trying to protect my home."
She laughed bitterly.
"It's always about your precious house."
I felt a sudden clarity.
"Because it's mine."
She looked at Ethan.
"Are you seriously going to let her humiliate me?"
He remained still.
Madison took a step closer.
"Baby, tell them."
He swallowed.
"Tell them what?"
"That everything we planned was your idea."
My heart tightened.
Ethan frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
She stared at him.
"The move. The investment. Our future."
"Madison, you said Mom offered to help."
"She did!"
"No," I said.
Madison swung toward me.
"Nobody asked you!"
Robert immediately stepped between us.
"Keep your distance."
For a moment, I thought she might strike me again.
Then Ethan spoke.
"Did you forge my mother's signature?"
Madison froze.
The question hung between them.
She looked toward Lauren.
Then Robert.
Finally, she laughed.
"That's insane."
"Answer me."
"I don't know anything about forged signatures."
Ethan held up his phone.
"You sent me the document."
"So?"
"Where did it come from?"
"Victor prepared it."
"Why?"
"Because we needed everything ready!"
Ethan stared at her.
"Ready for what?"
She looked trapped.
Then her expression changed.
Suddenly she began crying.
"Because I was scared!"
Nobody spoke.
She pressed her hands to her face.
"Victor said the investment was going to collapse. We needed money quickly. I didn't know what else to do."
Robert's voice remained steady.
"What investment?"
Madison shook her head.
"I can't explain."
Ethan stepped closer.
"You told me our savings were safe."
"They are."
"Then why were you trying to sell my mother's house?"
Madison's silence answered more than her words.
Ethan turned away.
I watched something inside him collapse.
Not his love for Madison.
Not yet.
But his certainty that he knew the woman he was about to marry.
"How much money?" he whispered.
Madison shook her head.
"Please don't ask."
"How much?"
Her voice cracked.
"Nearly four hundred thousand."
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Ethan stepped back.
"We don't have four hundred thousand dollars."
"I know."
"Then whose money is it?"
Madison began crying harder.
"Victor borrowed against accounts. He said he'd replace it before anyone noticed."
Robert's face became very serious.
"Whose accounts?"
"I don't know."
"Madison."
She looked at Ethan.
Then at me.
"I didn't want anybody hurt."
I almost laughed.
My cheek was swollen.
My dress hung in torn pieces.
My son was standing in front of a woman who had lied to him about my property.
And she was telling us she hadn't wanted anyone hurt.
Ethan shook his head.
"Get out."
Madison stared.
"What?"
"I can't talk to you right now."
"You can't leave me!"
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm asking you to leave this room."
She turned toward me.
"This is what you wanted."
I met her eyes.
"No."
My voice was steady.
"I wanted to watch my son marry someone who loved him."
Madison's face twisted.
Then she walked out.
Lauren followed her only after confirming with Robert that I was safe.
A few moments later, Natalie's security manager arrived.
He carried a tablet.
"Mrs. Whitmore, there's something you should see."
Robert asked whether the footage could be preserved.
The manager nodded.
Then he played a recording from the service corridor.
A woman in white walked toward the electrical control room.
The angle was poor.
Her face was hidden.
But as she passed the camera, she lifted the hem of her dress.
I saw the shoes.
White satin.
Tiny silver butterflies on the heels.
The same shoes Madison had proudly shown me the night before.
Ethan leaned closer.
"Oh, God."
The manager stopped the video.
"We've already provided this to the police."
I looked at my son.
He was staring at the screen.
May you like
Then he whispered something I had never expected.
"Mom, there's something else I need to tell you."
