Chapter 12: The Transfer They Couldn't Make

By the time I left my attorney's office, the fifteen-thousand-dollar transfer had been canceled.

The twenty-thousand-dollar transfer was canceled too.

For the first time in weeks, I felt like I could breathe.

I drove home without turning on the radio.

My mind kept returning to one thing.

The second house.

Maya's name was on the purchase documents.

Luke had guaranteed the financing.

And my money had been flowing into the transaction.

They had thought I would never look closely enough to notice.

They were wrong.

When I pulled into my driveway, I saw Luke's car parked across the street.

He was waiting.

I didn't get out immediately.

My phone rang.

Luke.

I answered but said nothing.

"You canceled the transfers."

His voice was tense.

"Yes."

"Elena, you can't do that."

"It's my money."

"It's our money."

I looked at the house I had paid for and maintained alone for years.

"No, Luke. It isn't."

He exhaled sharply.

"You don't understand what happens if that money doesn't go through."

"Then tell me."

There was a long pause.

"The closing is tomorrow."

I almost smiled.

"Then Maya should find another way to pay for her house."

"You know she can't."

"That's not my problem."

"It will become your problem if the seller sues us."

I frowned.

"Us?"

"The purchase agreement has both our names on it."

My grip tightened around the phone.

"What did you just say?"

"The paperwork was structured that way because your income was part of the financial plan."

My heart began pounding.

"You put my name on another property without my permission?"

He didn't answer.

That silence was enough.

"Luke, did you forge my signature?"

"It wasn't like that."

I closed my eyes.

"That's not an answer."

"Maya handled most of the paperwork."

I laughed bitterly.

"Of course she did."

Then I heard another voice in the background.

Maya.

"Luke, stop talking to her."

I ended the call.

I sat in my car for several minutes.

My hands were shaking, but my mind was clearer than ever.

They had made one mistake.

They had underestimated how much evidence they were leaving behind.

I went inside and opened my laptop.

My attorney had already sent instructions.

Do not delete anything.

Do not contact the lender directly without counsel.

Preserve every document.

I followed every instruction.

Then I found something I hadn't noticed before.

An email from Luke.

It had been sent to me seven months earlier.

The subject line read: Mortgage Documents.

I opened it.

Attached was a file I had never opened.

Inside were copies of financial forms.

My income.

My bank information.

My personal details.

And beneath them was a signature that looked like mine.

But it wasn't mine.

I zoomed in.

The signature was slightly crooked, as if someone had copied it from another document.

I forwarded everything to my attorney.

Then another email arrived.

This one was from the real estate agent handling Maya's house.

It wasn't addressed to me.

It had been accidentally forwarded to my email.

The subject line made my stomach drop.

"Final Funding Instructions — Tomorrow's Closing."

I opened it.

The first paragraph explained that the remaining funds had to be wired before noon.

The second listed the expected source of funds.

My joint account.

I stared at the screen.

They had built their entire closing around money they no longer had access to.

Then I noticed the final sentence.

"Please confirm that Mr. Mercer and Ms. Brooks will remain available for closing."

I read it twice.

They still expected me to show up.

They still believed they could somehow force me to sign.

I closed the email.

Then I called my attorney.

"They want me at the closing tomorrow."

He was silent for a moment.

"Then we'll make sure you're there."

"Why?"

"Because sometimes the best way to expose a lie is to let the person telling it finish the story."

I looked at the forged signature on my screen.

For the first time, I wasn't afraid of what Luke had planned.

I was curious to see how far he would go when he realized I knew everything.