Chapter 10 - The SignatureThe Jeep keys suddenly looked different.
Not like a gift.
Like a trap.
We returned home.
My mother was waiting.
She looked at the group entering the house.
Then she saw Noah.
Her face collapsed.
“You.”
Noah said nothing.
She whispered, “You were dead.”
“No.”
“I saw the report.”
“Forged.”
She looked at me.
“Who did this to us?”
I stared at her.
“You tell me.”
She shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
She walked to the kitchen.
From a drawer, she removed a document.
“This is what they wanted.”
She placed it on the counter.
It was a trust transfer agreement.
My signature line was blank.
The beneficiary field was altered.
If I signed, control would pass to my mother as trustee.
“And you expected me to sign this?”
“I thought you would.”
“Because?”
“Because of Sage.”
My stomach dropped.
“What were you going to threaten?”
She looked away.
“The trust contains a clause.”
“What clause?”
“If a beneficiary refuses a reasonable education arrangement, distributions can be delayed.”
I stared.
“You were going to use Sage’s college money against her.”
“I was trying to protect the family.”
“No. You were trying to control it.”
My mother started crying.
Then Dana said quietly:
“You lied to me too.”
Mom looked at her.
“What?”
“You told me Brin’s Jeep was mine because I was your daughter.”
My mother said nothing.
Dana continued.
“You told me that money belonged to us.”
“I believed it did.”
“No.”
Dana pointed at the documents.
“You knew it belonged to everyone.”
My mother broke.
“Yes.”
Brin started crying.
“I didn't know.”
Sage looked at her.
“I know.”
For the first time, the cousins stared at each other without comparison.
Without competition.
Just hurt.
Then the front door opened.
A man in a gray suit entered.
Samuel Pike.
He smiled at my mother.
“Mrs. Ellis.”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“You shouldn't be here.”
He ignored her.
He looked at me.
“Your father left unfinished business.”
I felt the room tighten.
“What business?”
“An estate dispute.”
“With whom?”
He smiled.
“With the person who legally owns the trust.”
“And who is that?”
Pike answered:
“Daniel Ellis.”
Noah stepped forward.
“That’s impossible.”
Pike laughed softly.
“No.”
He removed a sealed court document.
“Daniel never died.”
My mother gasped.
Noah stared.
Pike placed the document on the table.
“Your uncle has been alive for eighteen years.”
He looked at me.
“And he filed a claim this morning.”
My heart stopped.
“Against whom?”
Pike smiled.
“Against your daughter.”
Sage froze.
“Why?”
Pike leaned closer.
“Because someone has spent eighteen years pretending she was the rightful heir.”
My mother whispered:
“Me.”
Then Pike looked at Sage.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Your grandmother isn't the one I'm talking about.”
He placed the final document on the table.
May you like
The claimant named in the filing was:
SAGE ELLIS.
