Chapter 9 - THE LIE HIDING UNDER MY NAME
The investigator arrived three days later.
His name was Daniel Brooks.
He didn't look like someone from television.
No dramatic suit.
No intimidating voice.
Just a tired man carrying a folder.
"I need to ask you some questions."
I nodded.
"Okay."
He placed copies of documents on the table.
"Do you recognize these?"
I looked.
"No."
"Have you ever signed them?"
"No."
"Did you authorize anyone to sign for you?"
"No."
He wrote something down.
Then looked at me.
"Mrs. Carter, your name has been attached to several financial agreements."
"I know."
"But the problem isn't just that your signature appears."
"What is it?"
He turned the page.
"The signatures were created over different periods."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means someone didn't simply copy your signature once."
My blood went cold.
"They practiced."
The room went silent.
I looked at Callum.
He looked sick.
"Who had access to her documents?"
Daniel asked.
Callum answered quietly.
"Family."
That word felt poisonous now.
The investigation expanded.
Emails were reviewed.
Bank records checked.
Old documents reopened.
And then came the discovery nobody expected.
The forged signatures were connected to a computer at Deline's flower shop.
I stared at the report.
"No."
Callum looked devastated.
"I didn't know."
I believed him.
But belief was not enough anymore.
That evening, Deline called.
I almost ignored it.
But I answered.
"Emma."
Her voice was different.
Not confident.
Scared.
"You need to stop this."
I closed my eyes.
"Why?"
"Because you don't understand what you're doing."
"No."
I looked at the documents.
"You are the one who doesn't understand."
A pause.
Then:
"If I go down, Callum goes down too."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"What does that mean?"
She hung up.
I immediately looked at Callum.
"What does she mean?"
He looked terrified.
"Emma..."
"No."
I stood.
"Not another secret."
He sat down.
"There was one more thing."
I felt exhausted.
"What now?"
His voice broke.
"The first loan..."
He looked at me.
"It wasn't just Deline's."
"What?"
"It was connected to me."
The room spun.
"Explain."
He whispered:
"My name was on the original agreement too."
I stared.
"You were involved."
"Yes."
"And you let me believe you were protecting us from her?"
"I was ashamed."
The pain was different this time.
Not anger.
Disappointment.
Because I finally saw the whole picture.
My husband wasn't innocent.
He wasn't the villain either.
May you like
He was a man who spent years making cowardly choices...
and letting other people pay for them.
