Chương 7 - THE BACK PAGE
The scanned loan had four pages.
Arthur’s copy had three.
The fourth contained a rider signed by Grandma, Brett, and me.
I remembered signing it now.
We had sat at our kitchen table while Micah colored dinosaurs on the floor.
Grandma insisted the money protect the business we were building.
The rider required written notice to her—or her successor—before any sale of the secured assets.
It also listed my ownership interest.
Forty-nine percent.
Brett had initialed that paragraph.
Ruth compared the files.
“This matters.”
“Enough to stop him?”
“Enough to challenge what he represented. We still need authenticated records.”
Lena knew where the original loan packet should be.
A storage cabinet in the restaurant basement.
I was barred from company property.
She wasn’t.
“I’m not sneaking,” she said.
“I’m operations manager. Record retention is my job.”
Ruth warned her not to take company originals or access anything outside her authority.
Lena photographed the cabinet inventory and arranged for copies through counsel.
Two hours later, she called.
“The folder’s here.”
“Is the rider?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
For one second, I let myself breathe.
Then Lena said, “There’s something else.”
A delivery receipt.
The original ownership transfer had been sent to an outside notary six weeks earlier.
The appointment date matched the day I was in Iowa.
Ruth contacted the notary.
By evening, we had his written response.
He had witnessed a woman sign the transfer.
She had presented identification in my name.
He had recorded the transaction in his journal.
“Did you see her clearly?” Ruth asked on a scheduled call.
“Yes.”
“Would you recognize her?”
“I believe so.”
He described a woman with dark hair and a small crescent tattoo near her wrist.
I looked across the table at Lena.
At the gala, Sierra had reached for my brooch.
When her sleeve slipped, I had seen that same tattoo.
Ruth asked the notary to preserve his journal and any related records.
After the call, I opened the gala photographs.
There it was.
A crescent.
Lena covered her mouth.
My phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent a picture of the transfer.
May you like
Beneath it were six words.
Your husband didn’t do this alone.
