Chapter 5 - The Signature That Wasn't Mine|
Marlene Shaw lived in a limestone mansion overlooking Lake Michigan.
Her home was quieter than I expected.
No glamorous guests.
No champagne.
Only polished floors, expensive paintings, and a woman sitting behind an enormous desk with a folder already open.
“Close the door, June.”
I obeyed.
Marlene gestured toward the chair opposite her.
“Sit.”
She was wearing a navy silk blouse and a diamond bracelet.
Her silver hair was arranged in an elegant twist.
Nothing about her suggested weakness.
She slid a document across the desk.
I stared at it.
It was a collateral release request dated October 7.
The previous day.
My name appeared beneath a declaration authorizing the removal of Marlene's emerald necklace from Mercer Financial's secured vault.
And at the bottom was my signature.
Except it wasn't my signature.
I knew immediately.
The letters were too even.
The final stroke of my last name curved upward.
I had never written it that way.
“That's forged.”
Marlene watched my face.
“Are you certain?”
“Absolutely.”
She nodded slowly.
“I thought so.”
I looked up.
“Why?”
“Because the handwriting looks like someone copying a signature from a scanned document.”
My stomach tightened.
My job at Mercer Financial involved scanning old records.
Including employee agreements.
Including forms bearing my name.
I looked at Marlene.
“Someone used my work against me.”
She studied me carefully.
“Do you know who?”
I thought about Colin.
Tessa.
The group chat.
My first trial.
Everything.
But I couldn't simply accuse them without evidence.
“My husband brought the necklace home yesterday.”
Marlene's expression darkened.
“Interesting.”
She opened another folder.
“This is the original collateral agreement.”
I looked at the amount.
Eight million dollars.
My breath caught.
“Eight million?”
“The necklace was one item in a larger package securing a business loan.”
“Then why would someone risk removing it?”
“Because someone wants the collateral records to look fraudulent.”
She turned the page.
“And because the insurance coverage is considerably higher than you might expect.”
I stared at her.
“So they could claim theft?”
“Possibly.”
“Then blame me?”
Marlene didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she reached into a drawer and removed a small photograph.
A beautiful teenage girl stood beside her wearing the emerald necklace.
“She was my daughter,” Marlene said.
“Her name was Elise.”
I looked at the picture.
“She was beautiful.”
Marlene's face tightened.
“She died eleven years ago.”
“I'm sorry.”
Marlene nodded.
Then pointed toward the necklace's clasp.
“Elise had it modified before she died.”
My heart began pounding.
“What kind of modification?”
“A hidden compartment.”
I stared.
“Inside the clasp?”
Marlene nodded.
“Her father never knew.”
I remembered Colin covering the clasp with his thumb.
Suddenly, that movement made sense.
“What did she hide there?”
Marlene's expression changed.
“That's what I've been trying to find out for eleven years.”
Then she leaned forward.
“And June, there's something else.”
I swallowed.
“What?”
“Your husband called me yesterday.”
My blood went cold.
May you like
“What did he say?”
“He asked whether I would recognize the necklace if another woman wore it.”
