Chapter 7 - THE SIGNATURE THAT WASN’T HIS
Graham stared at the document.
The name was his.
But the signature wasn’t.
Someone had copied it.
Someone had forged his approval.
For months, he believed he had made a terrible mistake.
Now he realized something worse.
He had been framed.
“Daniel.”
The phone connected instantly.
“Did you see it?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not your signature.”
“I know.”
Daniel was quiet.
“Graham, this changes everything.”
“I need proof.”
“You’ll get it.”
The next morning, Graham met with a handwriting expert.
The answer came back within hours.
The report was clear.
“The signature was traced from an original document.”
Graham looked at the report.
“So someone copied my signature.”
“Yes.”
“Can you prove who?”
The expert looked serious.
“Not yet.”
Graham leaned back.
“Then find out.”
Later that afternoon, Graham returned home.
Sloane was waiting in the living room.
She looked different.
Less confident.
More desperate.
“You’re investigating me.”
Graham didn’t deny it.
“You lied to me.”
“I was trying to save us.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You were trying to erase my daughter.”
Sloane’s eyes filled with tears.
“I loved you.”
“You loved the idea of me.”
“That’s not fair.”
“What was fair about making a five-year-old believe her father didn’t want her?”
Sloane became quiet.
Then she said:
“She was never going to accept me.”
Graham shook his head.
“She was a child.”
“She knew.”
“She knew what?”
“That I would replace her mother.”
Graham stared.
And suddenly he understood.
Sloane wasn’t fighting Maisie.
She was fighting a memory.
A woman who wasn’t alive anymore.
Emily.
That evening, Graham searched through old messages.
And found something.
A conversation between Sloane and a private therapist.
A sentence stood out.
“The child must be separated before the marriage.”
Graham felt sick.
Before the marriage.
Not after.
Not because of a problem.
It was planned.
Then Daniel called.
“Graham.”
His voice sounded urgent.
“What?”
“I found something about the residential center.”
“What?”
“They have a connection with someone.”
“Who?”
Daniel paused.
“Someone in Sloane’s family.”
Graham stood up.
“Who?”
“Her father.”
Graham went silent.
Because Sloane had always said her family had nothing to do with her life.
She had lied about that too.
Daniel continued.
“Graham, there’s more.”
“What?”
“Your daughter’s transfer wasn’t scheduled after the wedding.”
Graham frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“It was scheduled before.”
“When?”
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“The morning after the wedding.”
Graham looked toward Maisie’s bedroom.
A cold feeling moved through him.
May you like
Because if he had married Sloane…
He might have woken up the next day without his daughter.
