Chapter 8 - The Photograph
I handed the photograph to Ethan.
His face changed instantly.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
“You’ve been there.”
“Yes.”
My stomach dropped.
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
“Why?”
He stared at the image.
“My mother took me.”
I waited.
“She said Vale handled family business.”
“What family business?”
“The loan.”
Agent Park stepped closer.
“You signed the promissory note there?”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
She studied him.
“Think carefully.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“There were several documents.”
“What kind?”
“I don’t know.”
“You keep signing things you don’t read?”
I asked.
He looked ashamed.
“I was desperate.”
That answer frightened me more than I wanted to admit.
Desperate people created opportunities for predators.
Margaret knew her son.
She knew his weaknesses.
She had probably built the entire trap around them.
Park asked, “Did Vale notarize anything?”
“Yes.”
“Did he make copies of your identification?”
“Yes.”
“Did you provide a signature sample?”
Ethan went silent.
“What?”
I asked.
“He had me sign three blank acknowledgment sheets.”
Daniel swore quietly.
Ethan looked at me.
“I thought they were part of the loan package.”
Agent Park’s expression told me exactly how serious that was.
“Those sheets could have been used to create authorization pages.”
My hands went cold.
“So Margaret didn’t necessarily forge his signature.”
“She may have used a genuine signature on a fraudulent document.”
That distinction mattered legally.
But emotionally, it changed nothing.
Margaret had prepared months in advance.
The photograph had been mailed anonymously.
Someone wanted us to know Ethan had visited Vale.
“Who sent this?”
Ethan asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“No idea.”
Karen had been silent for several minutes.
Then she whispered, “I might.”
Everyone turned.
She looked terrified.
“Dad.”
Ethan frowned.
“Dad is dead.”
“I know.”
Karen wrapped her arms around herself.
“But before he died, he hired a private investigator.”
“For what?”
“Mom.”
No one spoke.
Karen continued.
“I heard them arguing once.”
“Dad accused her of moving money from the trust.”
“He said he had proof.”
Ethan stared at his sister.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because the next week he died.”
The room fell silent.
Karen’s eyes filled with tears.
“After the funeral, Mom told me Dad had become paranoid before the heart attack.”
“She said I should forget everything he had said.”
Agent Park’s voice became very careful.
“Do you remember the investigator’s name?”
Karen closed her eyes.
Then she nodded.
“Samuel Cross.”
Daniel looked at Bell.
Bell was already reaching for his phone.
Ten minutes later, he returned.
“Samuel Cross is alive.”
My pulse quickened.
“Can you find him?”
Bell looked at me.
“We already did.”
“Where?”
May you like
He paused.
“Outside the hospital.”
