Chapter 19 - The Last Forgery
Nora didn't raise her voice. She'd had enough of shouting.
“I never signed it,” she said.
“I believe that's a possibility,” Jackson answered. “We need the original and a document examiner's findings.”
The agreement had been dated months before the wedding, during the week Nora was in the hospital for pregnancy complications. Victor's lawyers argued that she had authorized the transactions herself. If true, it could muddy the case and delay recovery of the property.
Adrian began listing every place Nora had been that week. Nora stopped him.
“There's a visitor log,” she said. “The maternity unit made everybody sign in because I had asked Patricia not to come.”
They requested the records through counsel. Meanwhile, Nora's attorney obtained a temporary protective order against any further transfer of Briar Lane and began the process of challenging the forged documents.
The visitor log contained an unexpected entry: Vanessa Hale, using the name Valerie Hart.
Nora looked stunned. “I never saw her.”
A nurse remembered a woman asking to leave a gift bag at reception. Hospital security footage showed Vanessa taking a discarded signature page from a folder at the desk while staff attended an emergency. The footage did not prove the final agreement was forged, but it supplied a significant lead.
Then the document examiner found mismatched pressure patterns and evidence that Nora's signature had been reproduced from another record. Combined with account logs and messages, it weakened Victor's claim that Nora had approved the deal.
Patricia, represented by counsel, cooperated with investigators and admitted that she'd helped prepare the false custody petition. She also disclosed where Victor kept backup financial records. Her cooperation did not erase her own legal exposure.
Ethan gave a further statement and returned the money he could. Claire decided to live separately while he faced the consequences of his choices. Their wedding was legally real; the trust between them had collapsed before their first dance ended.
Weeks later, the prosecutor filed additional charges against Victor connected to fraud and obstruction. Investigators continued examining Thomas's death, careful to distinguish suspicion from what could be proved in court.
Nora and Adrian visited their son in the NICU that afternoon. Benjamin's small fingers curled around Nora's thumb.
Adrian said, “The house is protected for now. The lawyers think the deed can be set aside.”
Nora nodded. “Good.”
He hesitated. “When Ben comes home, where do you want me to be?”
She looked up. Before she could answer, her phone rang.
May you like
The caller was Patricia Cole.
