Chapter 3 - My SignatureI stared at the paper until the words blurred.

My mother noticed my expression.

"What is it?"

I didn't answer.

I held it up.

"Who signed this?"

Dad's face went pale.

Mom stopped moving.

"What?"

"My signature."

The document was a deed-related transfer form.

My name.

My address.

My Social Security number.

And what looked frighteningly like my signature.

At the bottom was a date from eighteen months earlier.

I had been in Chicago that week.

I had proof.

Hotel records.

Credit card statements.

Work emails.

I had not been anywhere near Ohio.

"This isn't mine."

Mom's lips tightened.

"Maybe you forgot."

I looked at her.

"Forgot signing a legal document?"

"Rachel..."

"Who did this?"

Nobody answered.

Then Dad whispered, "Eric."

My entire body went cold.

"Eric forged my signature?"

Dad nodded slowly.

"He needed to refinance the house."

"And used my name?"

"He said the bank would never approve it otherwise."

I dropped the document onto the table.

"This isn't just family drama."

"No," Dad said.

"It's fraud."

Mom immediately raised her voice.

"You are not going to call the police."

I looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because that would destroy Eric."

I laughed once.

"Eric destroyed himself."

"He is your brother."

"Apparently that means he gets to steal my identity."

Dad stepped between us.

"Rachel, please."

I looked at him.

"Did you know?"

"I suspected."

"Did you stop him?"

Dad said nothing.

That silence answered me.

I walked to my bedroom and grabbed my laptop.

Within minutes, I pulled my bank statements, credit reports, and old tax records.

Then I saw something.

A credit inquiry I'd never recognized.

Another loan.

Another institution.

Another amount.

$118,000.

I stared at it.

My hands went numb.

"What the hell is this?"

Dad came over.

He looked at the screen.

Then he sat down.

"That's not possible."

"It is."

Mom came closer.

She saw the lender name.

Her face changed.

"That's..."

"What?"

She swallowed.

"That's the company Eric said he'd borrowed from."

I looked at her.

"How much?"

"About one hundred and eighteen thousand."

My voice dropped.

"And why is it showing on my credit?"

Nobody answered.

I pulled my credit report.

The account was listed under my name.

Open.

Current.

And with a balance of $113,400.

I looked at Dad.

"Did Eric take out a loan using my identity?"

He whispered, "I think so."

I closed my laptop.

"My life is over."

Dad reached for my hand.

"No."

I pulled away.

"No, Dad. It isn't over."

I stood.

"It's changing."

My mother looked frightened.

"What are you going to do?"

I looked directly at her.

"I'm going to find out exactly what my family has been doing with my name."

Then my phone rang.

Unknown number.

I answered.

"Hello?"

A man's voice said, "Ms. Whitman, my name is Daniel Reeves. I'm an investigator with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office."

I froze.

"Why are you calling me?"

There was a pause.

"Because your name came up in a fraud investigation."

My mother went white.

Daniel continued.

"And there's something else you need to know."

"What?"

"The signature on the mortgage documents isn't the only thing that was forged."

I stood completely still.

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"What else?"

"The beneficiary designation on your life insurance policy was changed."