Chapter 2: The Woman Who Knew His Signature
Loretta didn't raise her voice.
That was what frightened Renee most.
The older woman stood beside the fallen Christmas tree, holding the property sale agreement as carefully as if it were evidence in a courtroom.
Maya clung to the sleeve of her grandmother's cardigan.
“Grandma,” she whispered, “does that mean Daddy has to leave?””
Loretta lowered the document just enough to meet her granddaughter's eyes.
“I don't know yet, sweetheart.””
Renee seized the opportunity.
“Exactly. You don't know anything. You're making a scene over paperwork you don't understand.””
Loretta looked at her.
“Then explain it.””
Renee crossed her arms again.
“I don't have to explain every private decision I make.””
“Private decisions?”” Loretta repeated.
“This document says the home my son owns is scheduled to be sold in eight days.””
“Daniel and I have discussed our finances.””
“Then why is his signature forged?””
Renee's mouth tightened.
“You can't prove that.””
Loretta turned the page toward the sunlight.
“I watched that boy practice his signature at my kitchen table for two weeks because he wanted it to look like his father's. I know how he writes his D. I know how he crosses his t. And I know he doesn't make the final stroke of his r like this.””
She tapped the paper.
“Whoever signed this was copying him.””
Renee took a quick step forward.
“Give me the envelope.””
“No.””
“Loretta, don't make this ugly.””
“You pushed a Christmas tree onto the floor in front of a nine-year-old child and told her to get over her dead mother. I think ugly arrived before I did.””
Maya pressed her face into her grandmother's side.
Renee glanced at the girl, then toward the kitchen island.
Her eyes briefly settled on a smartphone lying beside a white ceramic bowl filled with peppermint candies.
Loretta noticed.
“Is Daniel aware of this sale?””
“Of course he is.””
“Then call him.””
Renee hesitated.
It lasted only a second, but Loretta saw it.
“Call him,” she repeated.
Renee snatched up the phone.
“Fine.””
She tapped Daniel's contact and put the phone to her ear. Her posture changed instantly. Her shoulders relaxed, and her voice became sweet.
“Hi, baby. Everything's fine here.””
Loretta watched her face.
“No, nothing happened. Your mother just arrived, and she's upset about something.””
Renee turned toward the kitchen window.
“Can you talk for a minute?””
A pause.
Then she smiled too quickly.
“Right. You're busy. That's what I thought.””
She ended the call.
“He's in a meeting,” she announced.
“He'll call me back.””
Loretta held out her hand.
“Let me see the call.””
Renee recoiled.
“Absolutely not.””
“Then stop using my son's name as a shield.””
“You have no right to interrogate me in my own home!””
Maya suddenly spoke from beside the tree.
“Grandma, Daddy didn't know about the papers.””
Both women turned toward her.
Maya wiped her cheeks with the cuffs of her Christmas sweater.
“Daddy told me yesterday that he was going to fix the kitchen cabinet before Christmas. He said we weren't moving anywhere.””
Renee's eyes narrowed.
“Go upstairs, Maya.””
“No.””
The little girl's voice trembled, but she stayed where she was.
“Daddy promised.””
Renee stepped toward her.
“Do you want to lose your Christmas presents, too?””
Loretta moved between them.
“You threaten that child one more time, and we'll have a very different conversation.””
Renee stopped.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Loretta looked back at the document.
“There's another name on this agreement.””
Renee's gaze darted to the page.
“It's the title company's representative.””
“Then you won't mind if I read it.””
Loretta turned to the second sheet.
The buyer's name was partly covered by a folded corner. She carefully flattened the paper against the marble island.
Before she could finish reading, Renee lunged for it.
Loretta pulled the document away.
“Don't touch me!””
“Give it to me!””
The envelope slipped from Loretta's elbow. Several pages scattered across the polished floor.
Maya gasped.
Renee dropped to her knees and began snatching them up, moving with frantic urgency rather than the composure she had displayed moments earlier.
“Stop!”” Loretta ordered.
Renee shoved a page into the envelope.
“You have no idea what you're interfering with.””
“Then tell me.””
“You think Daniel tells you everything? You think you're still the woman he comes to when he needs advice?””
Loretta's expression remained steady.
“No. I think my son deserves to know when someone is trying to sell his home without his permission.””
Renee rose with the papers clutched against her chest.
“You've always wanted to control him.””
“I'm not the one hiding documents under a tree.””
A sound came from the front hallway.
The unmistakable click of a key turning in the lock.
Maya's face lit up.
“Daddy!””
Renee went completely still.
Loretta turned toward the doorway, the unsigned-looking agreement still in her hand.
Daniel Carter stepped inside wearing a navy overcoat, carrying a small gift bag. His eyes moved over the scattered ornaments, the fallen tree, and his daughter's tearful face.
His smile vanished.
“What happened?””
Maya ran toward him.
“Daddy!””
Daniel dropped the gift bag and caught her in his arms.
“Hey, sweetheart. What's wrong?””
“Renee broke the tree.””
He looked over Maya's shoulder.
“Renee?””
His wife stood beside the kitchen island, clutching the envelope so tightly that the paper bent between her fingers.
“It was an accident,” she said quickly.
Maya shook her head against her father's chest.
“No, Daddy. She pushed it.””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
He looked at the shattered ornaments, then at the wooden star lying near the base of the tree.
“That was the star your mother made with you,” he whispered.
Maya nodded.
Daniel closed his eyes for a brief moment before kissing the top of her head.
When he looked up again, Loretta held out the property sale agreement.
“Daniel, I need you to look at this.””
He shifted Maya into one arm and took the document.
His eyes moved across the heading.
Then the closing date.
Then the signature.
The color drained from his face.
“Where did you get this?””
“Under the Christmas tree,” Loretta replied.
Daniel read the signature a second time.
“This isn't mine.””
Renee stepped closer.
“Daniel, listen to me.””
He lifted one hand without looking at her.
“Not yet.””
He turned to the second page, and his expression changed.
The anger in his eyes gave way to something closer to disbelief.
“Who prepared this agreement?””
Loretta answered quietly.
“That's what I was trying to find out.””
Daniel looked toward Renee.
“Why is there a sale agreement for my house with a closing date of December twenty-seventh?””
Renee opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then Daniel turned the page over.
A handwritten note had been attached to the back, folded beneath the binder clip. He recognized the handwriting immediately.
Not Renee's.
Not his mother's.
It was the handwriting of the person who had helped him buy the house in the first place.
Daniel read the note once.
Then again.
His fingers began to tremble.
“Where did you get this?”” he asked Renee.
She backed away from the island.
“Daniel, I can explain.””
He held up the note.
“Then explain why my father wrote this.””
Loretta's eyes widened.
May you like
Daniel's father had been dead for eleven years.
And the note contained a warning about the house that none of them had ever heard before.
