Chapter 10: The Brother Who Betrayed Us
For several seconds, I couldn't make myself look away from the photograph.
David.
My older brother.
The man who had carried Maya around the hospital when she was born. The man who had promised our mother that he would always protect her granddaughter. The man who had stood beside me at my wedding and toasted the beginning of my new family.
He was the last person I expected to see.
I enlarged the photograph.
David was standing outside a solicitor's office, holding a document folder. Richard Cole was beside him. Both men appeared to be looking directly at the camera.
The date printed beneath the photograph was October 14.
Eight months before my mother died.
I turned toward Daniel.
"Tell me this is fake.""
He studied the photograph.
"I can't authenticate it from an image alone.""
"That's my brother.""
"I recognize that.""
"Why would he be involved?""
Daniel placed the photograph beside the disputed trust amendment.
"Your brother was listed as an emergency contact in several of your mother's estate records. He may have had access to information about the original arrangements.""
I shook my head.
"David barely visited Mom during her final year. He lived three states away.""
"That doesn't mean he wasn't involved in the financial arrangements.""
I pulled out my phone.
I wanted to call him.
I wanted to demand an explanation.
I wanted to hear him tell me there was a mistake.
But Daniel stopped me.
"Don't call him yet.""
"Why?""
"If he's involved, he may warn Vanessa or Richard that we have the photograph.""
I looked at the screen again.
David was smiling.
Richard wasn't.
There was something about the photograph that made me uncomfortable. Richard looked as though he were supervising a transaction rather than attending a meeting.
I handed the phone to Daniel.
"Find out where this was taken.""
He nodded.
Then I received another message from Elaine.
*I shouldn't have kept this from you. David was the person Vanessa called when she needed the documents signed.*
My stomach tightened.
I typed back.
*What documents?*
Her response came almost immediately.
*The trust amendments. The house transfer. Everything.*
I stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
*He told Vanessa he could make sure you never found out.*
I put the phone down.
Daniel was already making calls.
Within an hour, he had confirmed that David had visited Richard's office several times during the period when the disputed documents were prepared.
But the worst discovery came from a bank record.
David had received three payments from Richard's consulting company.
The first was $12,000.
The second was $18,000.
The third was $25,000.
A total of $55,000.
I read the numbers again.
"That's what he was paid?""
"Those transfers are documented," Daniel replied.
"We still need to establish their purpose.""
"There's only one purpose.""
Daniel looked at me.
"Let's not get ahead of the evidence.""
I laughed bitterly.
"You're asking me not to assume my brother helped steal from my daughter?""
"I'm asking you to build a case that cannot be dismissed.""
He was right.
I hated that he was right.
That afternoon, I finally called David.
He answered on the second ring.
"Marcus! How's my favorite little niece?""
His cheerful voice made my skin crawl.
"Where are you?""
"At home. Why?""
"We need to talk.""
"Everything okay?""
I looked at the photograph.
"No. It isn't.""
There was a pause.
"What happened?""
"Have you spoken to Vanessa recently?""
"Not really. Why?""
"Have you spoken to Richard Cole?""
Another pause.
"Who's Richard?""
I closed my eyes.
My brother had just lied to me.
"David, I have a photograph.""
His voice changed.
"What photograph?""
"One of you standing outside Richard's office.""
Silence.
Then he sighed.
"Marcus, listen. I can explain.""
"Good. Start explaining.""
"It's not what you think.""
"Did you receive money from Richard?""
He didn't answer.
"David?""
"Yes.""
The admission landed like a punch.
"How much?""
"That doesn't matter.""
"Fifty-five thousand dollars?""
He exhaled.
"Vanessa said it was a consulting fee.""
"For what?""
"Estate administration.""
"You helped forge my signature?""
"I didn't forge anything!""
"Then why are you in the photograph?""
"Because I was helping with paperwork!""
I gripped the phone.
"What paperwork?""
David's voice became defensive.
"Mom wanted to change some things before she died. She didn't trust you to manage the estate properly.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Mom trusted me with everything.""
"That's what you want to believe.""
I went silent.
David continued.
"You were always her favorite. She gave you the house, the business, and now the trust. I got nothing.""
I stared at the wall.
"You're talking about your mother's inheritance?""
"I'm talking about years of being treated like I didn't matter.""
"So you decided to take money from an eleven-year-old?""
"Don't twist this.""
"Did you sign documents using my name?""
He lowered his voice.
"Marcus, you need to understand something. Vanessa was going to lose everything. She needed help.""
"Why?""
"Because your mother had made arrangements that could leave her with nothing.""
I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Vanessa was never entitled to Maya's money.""
"She was raising Maya!""
"She was making Maya wash everyone's clothes by hand!""
David fell silent.
I continued.
"She was withholding food. She was threatening her. She was putting jewelry in her backpack to make her look like a thief.""
"I didn't know about that.""
"But you knew about the money.""
He didn't respond.
Then I asked the question I had been avoiding.
"Did you know she was planning to have Maya removed from the house?""
His voice dropped.
"She said it would be temporary.""
I felt sick.
"Temporary?""
"She told me Maya needed a different environment.""
"She's a child, David!""
"I know!""
His voice cracked.
For a moment, I heard the brother I had grown up with.
Then he said something that destroyed whatever sympathy I had left.
"Marcus, if Maya had gone somewhere else, Vanessa could have finally settled the estate without all this interference.""
I ended the call.
My hands were shaking.
Daniel had heard everything.
He sat quietly for a moment.
Then he said:
"That conversation may be important. Write down exactly what was said while you remember it.""
I nodded.
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
*Your brother isn't the only one who signed those papers. Ask Vanessa who signed the final transfer.*
I showed Daniel.
He frowned.
"Who sent this?""
"No idea.""
He examined the message.
"Don't reply.""
Then he opened the photograph of David again.
There was something in the background I hadn't noticed.
A glass door with the name of the law firm etched across it.
Daniel searched the firm's records.
A few minutes later, he found something.
The firm had represented Vanessa's company during the purchase of the property.
But it had also represented someone else.
Someone whose name appeared on the final trust transfer.
Daniel turned the screen toward me.
*Elaine Parker.*
I stared.
"Her too?""
"She signed as a director of the property company. But there's another signature.""
He enlarged the document.
The final authorization bore two names.
Elaine Parker.
And David Hale.
My brother and my wife's sister had both signed.
But the final signature wasn't theirs.
It belonged to the person who had supposedly approved the transfer.
I looked at the bottom of the page.
The name was mine.
Someone had forged my signature.
Again.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He listened for several seconds.
His expression became grave.
When he ended the call, he looked directly at me.
"Marcus, your brother has just contacted the trustee.""
"What did he say?""
"He claims your mother personally authorized every transaction.""
I stood.
"That's impossible.""
Daniel nodded.
"There's something else. He's requested a meeting tomorrow morning.""
"With whom?""
"Vanessa, Richard, and the trustee.""
I stared at the names.
May you like
They were gathering together.
And I had a feeling they weren't planning to tell the truth.
