Chapter 6 - THEY USED MY NAME
“Say that again.”
I gripped the phone.
The attorney repeated it.
“A personal line of credit for eighty-five thousand dollars.”
“I never signed for that.”
“The disclosure lists you as a supporting guarantor.”
My stomach dropped.
“That’s impossible.”
“I have a copy of the paperwork.”
“Send it.”
The document hit my inbox two minutes later.
I opened the PDF.
My name was there.
Rachel Anne Carson.
My address.
My company.
A signature.
It looked like mine.
Almost.
But I knew how I signed legal documents.
The R curved differently.
The last name was too clean.
Someone had copied it.
“This is forged.”
The attorney went silent.
“Are you certain?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m going to pause the closing.”
“Do that.”
“I also recommend contacting counsel.”
“I already have one.”
My attorney, Elena Morris, answered on the second ring.
By 8:00 a.m., she had the airport screenshots, education-account records, and forged loan document.
“This started as child abandonment.”
She said.
“Now we may be looking at fraud.”
“My parents forged my name.”
“Possibly.”
“Possibly?”
“We prove things.”
“I know.”
Her tone softened.
“Rachel, don’t contact them about the signature yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I want copies of everything before anyone starts changing stories.”
For once, someone else was telling me not to rush in and fix things.
I listened.
Emma woke around eight-thirty.
She shuffled into the kitchen wearing pajamas.
“Are we going to San Diego?”
I looked at her.
“Do you want to?”
She thought about it.
“No.”
“Okay.”
“Can we go somewhere else?”
“Absolutely.”
“Just us?”
The question hurt.
“Just us.”
She climbed onto a stool.
Then she saw the documents.
“Are Grandma and Grandpa in trouble?”
I closed the laptop.
“Grown-up trouble.”
“Because of me?”
“No.”
I said it firmly.
“Nothing happening now is because of you.”
“But if I got on the plane—”
“No.”
I moved closer.
“If you had gotten on that plane, their other choices would still be wrong.”
Emma stared at me.
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
At 9:17, my mother finally texted.
Call me before you destroy this family.
I stared at the message.
Then handed the phone to Elena, who had arrived at my house.
“She says I’m destroying the family.”
Elena read it.
“She left a child at an airport.”
“Apparently that’s less serious.”
“People who rely on silence tend to call truth destructive.”
My phone rang again.
Dad.
I declined it.
Then Matt.
Declined.
Then Lauren.
Declined.
Finally, an unknown San Diego number called.
I answered.
“Ms. Carson?”
“Yes.”
“This is Luis from the Pacifica Grand.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I wanted to document an incident involving your family.”
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
“Your father became upset when asked for a valid card.”
“That sounds like him.”
“He told our front desk manager that you were financially responsible for all charges.”
“I’m not.”
“We understand.”
“What else?”
“He also threatened to have an employee fired.”
I closed my eyes.
“Was anyone hurt?”
“No.”
“But security became involved.”
“Okay.”
Luis hesitated.
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“Your sister-in-law tried to charge the rooms using a card in your name.”
I stood up.
“What card?”
“She presented a physical card.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Ms. Carson, the name embossed on it is yours.”
I looked at Elena.
She saw my face.
“What?”
She mouthed.
I covered the phone.
“Lauren has a credit card with my name on it.”
Elena’s expression hardened.
“Tell them to hold it.”
I returned to the call.
“Luis, do not give that card back.”
There was a pause.
Then he said:
“I’m afraid your sister-in-law already took it.”
May you like
And suddenly I understood this was no longer just about a family that expected me to pay.
Someone had been pretending to be me.
