“But you didn’t sign them.”
“No.”
She dried her hands slowly.
“Then who did?”
“I don’t know.”
Diane sat at the kitchen table.
For several seconds, she stared at the yellow note still sitting beside the fruit bowl.
Then she whispered:
“Walter.”
“Yeah?”
“Ask yourself one question.”
“What?”
“Who had access to your information?”
I already knew where her mind was going.
But I didn’t want to go there.
“Craig?”
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she pointed toward the folder.
“You gave him copies of your financial documents when you helped with the mortgage.”
“I gave him copies of the mortgage agreement.”
“And your identification?”
“Some documents.”
“Bank statements?”
“Probably.”
“Tax records?”
I nodded slowly.
“Some.”
Diane’s face fell.
“Then he could have had everything he needed.”
I didn’t sleep that night.
Neither did Diane.
At six the next morning, Colleen called.
“I’ve spoken to the lender.”
“What did they say?”
“They’ve frozen any enforcement action while we investigate.”
“Good.”
“There is more.”
“What?”
“The loan was taken out eighteen months ago.”
I sat up.
“Eighteen months?”
“Yes.”
That meant something.
I thought back.
Eighteen months ago was when Craig’s agency had first started struggling.
The same period when he had begun missing payments to me.
The same period when Emily had told us everything was fine.
The same period when Craig had suddenly become uncomfortable whenever I asked about the business.
“Who received the money?” I asked.
“That’s complicated.”
“Colleen.”
She sighed.
“Some went into the agency.”
“Some?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Approximately eighty thousand.”
“And the rest?”
“Transferred through several accounts.”
My stomach tightened.
“Whose?”
“We’re tracing them.”
I stood.
“Call me when you know.”
“I will.”
I hung up.
Diane was watching me.
“What?”
“I think we need to talk to Emily.”
“I agree.”
But before I could reach for my phone, it rang.
Emily.
I answered.
“Dad?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need you to come over.”
My heart sank.
“Why?”
“Because I found something.”
“What?”
She was crying.
“Something in Craig’s office.”
I looked at Diane.
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Is Craig there?”
“No.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
I stood up.
“We’re coming.”
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Bring your attorney.”
That stopped me.
“Why?”
“Because I think Craig has been lying to all of us.”
Twenty minutes later, Diane and I arrived at Emily’s house.
The front door was unlocked.
Emily was sitting on the living-room floor surrounded by papers.
Her eyes were swollen.
“What happened?”
She pointed toward the hallway.
“His office.”
We followed her.
The room looked as though a storm had passed through it.
Drawers were open.
Cabinet doors hung crooked.
Folders were scattered across the floor.
Emily picked up a stack.
“I was looking for our mortgage documents.”
“Why?”
“Because I called the lender.”
She swallowed.
“They told me there was another lien.”
I looked at her.
“That’s what Colleen found.”
Emily stared at me.
“You already knew?”
“Yesterday.”
“Dad…”
She covered her face.
“I didn’t know.”
“I know.”
She shook her head.
“No. You don’t.”
She reached into a drawer and pulled out an envelope.
“I found this.”
I opened it.
Inside was a photocopy of a power-of-attorney document.
My name appeared at the bottom.
But the signature wasn’t mine.
My hands went cold.
“Where did you find this?”
“Behind the filing cabinet.”
Diane took the paper.
“Why would Craig have this?”
Emily shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Then she whispered:
“Because maybe he wasn’t acting alone.”
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
She pulled out another document.
A company name was highlighted.
I recognized it.
“Who’s this?”
“It’s one of Craig’s investors.”
“Name?”
“Marcus Bell.”
I frowned.
“Never heard of him.”
“Craig said he was helping the agency.”
“How much?”
“Three hundred thousand.”
I stared at the document.
Three hundred thousand.
Suddenly, the missing money made sense.
Craig hadn’t simply borrowed money to save the company.
He had been borrowing from different people.
Using different promises.
And when those promises began collapsing, he’d reached for the one thing he thought nobody would question.
My property.
My name.
My family.
Colleen arrived twenty minutes later.
She examined the documents carefully.
“This is fraud.”
Emily started crying again.
“What happens now?”
Colleen looked at her.
“First, nobody confronts Craig alone.”
“Why?”
“Because we don’t know what else he’s done.”
She turned to me.
“Walter, I need you to think back carefully.”
“About what?”
“Every document you signed for Craig.”
I told her.
The business loan.
The mortgage.
The children’s trust.
The copies of my identification.
The refinancing paperwork.
Then Diane interrupted.
“Wait.”
We all looked at her.
“There was one more.”
“What?”
“About a year ago.”
She looked at me.
“Remember when you were in the hospital?”
I did.
I’d been admitted for three days after a bad infection.
“What about it?”
“Craig came by.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“He said you had asked him to pick up some documents from your study.”
My heart stopped.
“I never asked him.”
Diane nodded.
“I know that now.”
Colleen’s expression hardened.
“What documents?”
Diane pointed at me.
“Your property deed.”
I felt a chill move through me.
“Where was it?”
“In the old fireproof box.”
“Was Craig alone?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Maybe twenty minutes.”
Colleen wrote something down.
“That’s significant.”
Emily looked horrified.
“He took Dad’s deed?”
“We don’t know yet,” Colleen said. “But we’re going to find out.”
That afternoon, the lender’s investigators arrived.
They traced the forged documents.
The power of attorney had been created using information from an old tax file.
The signature had been copied from one of my legitimate documents.
The notary stamp belonged to a real notary.
But the notary later admitted that she had never witnessed my signature.
Someone had submitted paperwork electronically.
The more we uncovered, the worse it became.
Craig had been drowning financially for almost two years.
The agency had lost major clients.
Payroll expenses had increased.
He had taken loans from private investors.
He had used credit cards.
He had borrowed from one account to cover another.
And then he had started transferring money into his personal account.
Some of it went toward the mortgage.
Some went toward business debts.
Some went toward luxury purchases Emily knew nothing about.
And some went to a woman named Rachel.
Emily recognized the name.
“Who is Rachel?”
Nobody answered.
I looked at the records.
The transfers were regular.
Thousands of dollars at a time.
Colleen looked at Emily.
“You need to be prepared.”
“For what?”
“Your husband may have been hiding more than debt.”
Emily’s face went white.
But before she could respond, the front door opened.
Craig walked in.
He stopped when he saw all of us.
His eyes went directly to the papers.
Then to Colleen.
Then to me.
“What is this?”
I didn’t answer.
He looked at Emily.
“What did you do?”
Emily stood.
“I found the documents.”
His face changed.
“Which documents?”
“The ones with Dad’s forged signature.”
Silence.
Craig looked at me.
“I can explain.”
I nodded.
“Then explain.”
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
“Who forged my signature?”
He looked away.
“Craig.”
“I didn’t do it.”
“Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
Colleen stood.
“You should not say anything further without counsel.”
Craig laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
He looked at me.
“You think I wanted this?”
“No.”
“You think I planned all of this?”
“I don’t know what you planned.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to keep everyone together.”
Emily stared at him.
“By stealing from my father?”
“I didn’t steal.”
“You put his property up as collateral.”
“I was going to pay it back.”
“You forged his signature.”
“I didn’t forge it.”
“Then who did?”
Craig couldn’t answer.
And that silence was answer enough.
The investigation moved quickly after that.
Craig hired an attorney.
The lender suspended the loan.
The police became involved.
Marcus Bell was questioned.
Eventually, the truth emerged.
Marcus had arranged the private financing.
Craig had told him my property could be used as security.
Marcus had assumed Craig had authorization.
When Craig couldn’t produce the original power of attorney, Marcus had pushed him.
Craig panicked.
He obtained the forged document.
He used it.
He never expected anyone to look closely.
But someone finally did.
