Chapter 5: The Woman Who Wasn’t Me
The next morning, Richard drove Beth and me to the bank.
Daniel and Lorraine were already waiting inside with a lawyer named Grant Mercer.
Grant placed a file on the conference table.
“My clients would prefer to settle this privately.”
“I’m not settling anything until the lien is removed,” I said.
Daniel folded his arms.
“You can’t remove a valid loan because you regret signing it.”
“I never signed it.”
Grant opened the file.
“The signature was witnessed and notarized.”
A bank officer turned her monitor toward me.
A scanned identification card appeared beside the documents.
It carried my name, address, and date of birth.
The photograph was too dark to show the woman’s face clearly.
“That isn’t my current license,” I said.
Lorraine shrugged.
“Perhaps you used an old one.”
“I have never worn glasses like those.”
Daniel leaned back.
“You can invent details all day.
The notary confirmed your identity.”
For one terrible moment, no one spoke.
The bank officer placed a notice beside my hand.
“Unless we receive evidence of forgery, the sale process will continue.”
Lorraine smiled across the table.
“You wanted to humiliate me, Claire.
Now you may lose the last thing your mother gave you.”
Beth pushed her chair back.
“Tell them who wore the glasses.”
Lorraine’s smile faded.
“What are you talking about?”
Beth placed her phone on the table and played a voice message.
Lorraine’s voice filled the room.
“Denise only needs to sit still and sign.
The photograph is dark enough, and Grant says the bank never checks old identification if the notary approves it.”
Grant reached for the phone.
“Turn that off.”
Beth snatched it away.
“Why?
Don’t you like hearing your own plan?”
Daniel stood.
“That recording was obtained illegally.”
“It was sent to our family group,” Beth replied.
“You just forgot I was still in it.”
Grant closed his file.
“My clients deny that the voice is Mrs.
Whitmore’s.”
Richard looked at Lorraine.
“Say that again while looking at me.”
Lorraine lifted her chin.
“It isn’t my voice.”
“You have lied to me for thirty-six years, but you never learned to do it without touching your necklace.”
Her hand dropped from the chain around her neck.
The bank officer copied the recording to a secure folder.
“This is enough to pause the sale for forty-eight hours, not cancel it.
We still need proof concerning the notarization.”
Daniel’s expression brightened.
“You don’t have it.”
Beth looked at me.
“Who is Denise?”
“My mother’s sister,” Daniel said.
“She resembles Claire from a distance.”
Lorraine glared at him.
“Be quiet.”
I faced her.
“You asked your own sister to pretend to be me?”
“She helped protect her family.”
“By helping you take my home?”
Lorraine leaned across the table.
“You will withdraw your accusation, apologize publicly for those photographs, and tell Richard the affair never happened.
In return, Daniel may persuade me to repay part of the loan.”
Richard removed his wedding ring.
“You no longer get to offer my money as a favor.”
Lorraine stared at the ring on the table.
“You’ll come home when you calm down.”
“No,” Richard said.
“I won’t.”
Grant gathered his papers.
“This meeting is over.”
My phone buzzed as they headed for the door.
The message came from an unknown number.
My name is Evelyn Hart.
My seal appears on your loan, but I notarized nothing.
Please call me before Daniel discovers I contacted you.
May you like
I looked toward Daniel.
He had stopped in the doorway and was staring directly at my phone.
