Chapter 3: A Name from the Past
Daniel took the page from the manager.
His fingers tightened around its edges.
“Michael Carter,” he whispered.
My husband’s name sat beneath the false signature.
Michael had been gone for six years.
Tiffany lifted her chin.
“It must have been copied from one of the earlier forms.”
The venue manager, Mr.
Patel, shook his head.
“This request was submitted yesterday.
Both signatures were dated yesterday.”
“Then your staff made a mistake,” Tiffany said.
“You should be apologizing to us.”
I stepped closer.
“Do not use Michael’s name to cover what you did.”
“You don’t know that I did anything.”
“Then tell us who submitted the form.”
Tiffany turned to Daniel.
“Are you going to let her interrogate me at our wedding?”
Daniel stared at the page.
“Why is Dad’s name here?”
“I already told you.
It’s a clerical mistake.”
“His middle initial is wrong,” Daniel said.
“Dad never used ‘J.’”
Tiffany’s eyes moved toward her mother, Elaine, who was standing beside the head table.
Elaine hurried forward.
“This has gone far enough,” she said.
“Your mother canceled half the reception out of spite.
Deal with her first.”
I held out my hand to Mr.
Patel.
“Please keep that document secure.”
“I’ll place it in the office safe,” he said.
“The digital submission record will also show when and where it was uploaded.”
Tiffany’s glass struck the table.
“You have no right to investigate me.”
“I have every right to examine a document carrying my name.”
Daniel moved between us.
“Mom, please.
Give us one night.
We’ll settle this tomorrow.”
“You asked me to wait while she ordered me out of a wedding I paid for.”
“She was angry.”
“So was I.
My hand stayed at my side.”
Daniel flinched, but Tiffany stepped around him.
“You’ve always hated that he chose me.”
“I welcomed you into my home.”
“You tried to control everything.”
“You chose the flowers, the hotel, the menu, and the dress.
I wrote the checks.”
“And now you’re holding those checks over our heads.”
“No,” I said.
“I am stopping someone from using my name without permission.”
A young woman in a pale blue bridesmaid dress appeared near the ballroom doors.
I recognized her as Chloe, Tiffany’s college friend.
“Tiffany,” Chloe said, “you left this in the bridal suite.”
She held out a large brown envelope.
Tiffany crossed the floor quickly.
“Give it to me.”
Chloe pulled it back.
“Why does Daniel’s mother’s name appear on the front?”
“That is none of your business.”
Tiffany reached for the envelope, but Chloe stepped behind Mr.
Patel.
Elaine’s voice sharpened.
“Chloe, stop creating a scene.”
“I’m not the one creating it.”
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.
“What’s inside?”
Chloe looked at me.
“I don’t know.
But I heard Tiffany tell Elaine it had to be signed before Monday.”
Tiffany’s expression changed.
“She’s lying because I asked her to leave the bridal party last month.”
“You asked me to leave tonight,” Chloe said.
“After I saw you practicing a signature that wasn’t yours.”
A chair scraped behind us.
Several guests turned toward the sound.
Tiffany pointed at Chloe.
“She’s drunk.”
“I haven’t had anything to drink.”
“Then you’re jealous.”
Chloe placed the envelope in my hands.
“Open it.”
Tiffany lunged forward, but Mr.
Patel blocked her path.
I broke the seal and removed a bank application.
The first page carried my name, my address, and the estimated value of my house.
Daniel looked over my shoulder.
“What does your house have to do with our wedding?”
Chloe swallowed.
“Tiffany said the wedding was only the beginning.”
I turned the page.
May you like
A home-equity application for seventy-eight thousand dollars was waiting for my signature.
And someone had already written my name.
