Chapter 6: The Copy
“Copied from Gloria.””
Ethan read the words twice.
Then he looked at his mother.
“What does that mean?””
Gloria stared at the monitor.
“I don't know.””
“You're sure?””
“Yes.””
“Mom.””
“I said I don't know.””
Ethan's voice softened.
“Then why would someone write that?””
Gloria didn't answer.
Sophia stood several feet away, watching them.
Ethan turned toward her.
“You know.””
Sophia shook her head.
“No.””
“You always know more than you say.””
“I don't.””
“Then tell me why Marcus had access to my signature.””
Sophia looked down.
“I don't know.””
“Tell me why he was meeting you.””
“I told you. He wanted to talk.””
“About my trust?””
Sophia swallowed.
“Yes.””
Ethan stared.
“What did he want?””
“He wanted to know whether you had discovered it.””
“And you told him?””
“I told him you didn't know.””
Ethan closed his eyes.
Gloria stepped toward Sophia.
“Why?””
Sophia looked at her.
“Because Marcus said if Ethan found out, everything would fall apart.””
“What would fall apart?””
“Our marriage.””
Gloria's expression hardened.
“Your marriage was already falling apart if you had to hide a trust from my son.””
Sophia wiped her cheek.
“You don't understand.””
“No,” Gloria said.
“I understand perfectly.””
Ethan looked back at the monitor.
“Who copied my signature?””
Sophia whispered,
“Marcus.””
Ethan stared.
“How?””
“He had old paperwork.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
“You said he showed you a copy.””
“Yes.””
“Where did he get it?””
Sophia shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Ethan slammed his palm onto the coffee table.
“Stop saying you don't know!””
Sophia flinched.
“You're asking questions I can't answer.””
“Then answer the ones you can.””
She was silent.
Ethan stepped closer.
“When did you first learn about the trust?””
Sophia looked at Gloria.
“Three months ago.””
Ethan's eyes hardened.
“That was before I turned forty.””
“Yes.””
“And the document with my forged signature was dated three months ago.””
Sophia nodded.
“I didn't sign it.””
“I know.””
“Marcus did.””
“What did he use it for?””
Sophia's lips parted.
She hesitated too long.
Ethan noticed.
“What did he use it for?””
“I don't know.””
He looked at Gloria.
“She's lying.””
Gloria nodded.
“I know.””
Sophia's eyes filled with tears.
“He said it was temporary.””
“What was temporary?””
“The transfer.””
Ethan froze.
“What transfer?””
Sophia covered her mouth.
Gloria stepped forward.
“Tell him.””
Sophia shook her head.
“If I tell him, Marcus will come after me.””
Ethan's expression changed.
“Come after you?””
“He told me he'd ruin me.””
“Why?””
“Because I helped him.””
Ethan stared at her.
Finally, the truth had entered the room.
“How did you help him?””
Sophia looked toward the monitor.
“I gave him access.””
“To what?””
“To the paperwork.””
Gloria's face tightened.
“Which paperwork?””
Sophia whispered,
“Your signature.””
Gloria went still.
“My signature?””
“I didn't know what he was going to do.””
“You gave him my signature?””
“It was a copy.””
“Of what?””
Sophia couldn't answer.
Ethan stepped between them.
“Mom?””
Gloria's eyes remained fixed on Sophia.
“What did you sign three years ago?””
Gloria's face changed.
Sophia whispered,
“That's what Marcus was looking for.””
Ethan frowned.
“What did my mother sign?””
Sophia's voice dropped.
“The original authorization.””
Gloria's hands began to tremble.
Ethan noticed.
“Mom.””
She sat down.
For the first time that night, she looked old.
Not dignified.
Not strong.
Just tired.
“I signed something after your father died,” she said.
“What?””
“A temporary authorization.””
“For what?””
“To manage the trust.””
Ethan stared at her.
“You said Dad never left me anything I could access.””
“I thought it was safer.””
“You knew?””
“I knew there was money.””
“How much?””
Gloria looked at him.
“I didn't know the full amount.””
Sophia whispered,
“Marcus did.””
Ethan turned toward her.
“How?””
“He was the attorney handling the original paperwork.””
Gloria's eyes snapped up.
“No.””
Sophia nodded.
“Yes.””
“My husband never trusted Marcus.””
“He trusted the law firm.””
Gloria's face went pale.
“What law firm?””
Sophia didn't answer.
Ethan looked between them.
Then his phone vibrated.
Everyone froze.
Ethan pulled it from his pocket.
Unknown number.
One message.
*STOP LOOKING AT THE DOCUMENTS.*
A second message appeared immediately.
*YOUR MOTHER IS NOT TELLING YOU EVERYTHING.*
Ethan stared at the screen.
Gloria whispered,
“Don't respond.””
The phone vibrated again.
A photograph appeared.
It was a picture of Gloria standing in this exact living room.
Taken from inside the house.
Taken only minutes earlier.
Ethan slowly looked around.
The cameras.
The windows.
The hallway.
Then he noticed the wall-mounted monitor.
One camera feed was still live.
But the camera angle was wrong.
It wasn't showing the room.
It was showing the front door.
And standing outside that door was Marcus.
Ethan whispered,
“He's here.””
The doorbell rang.
Sophia began to cry.
Gloria rose slowly from the sofa.
May you like
Then the monitor displayed one final message.
*LET HIM IN.*
