Chapter 6 - THE SIGNATURE
The application called me a nonresident family member providing a cash contribution.
Contribution amount: $28,460.
Exactly what my parents owed me.
Below it was a statement saying the contribution did not have to be repaid.
Below that was my name.
And a signature.
I had not written it.
“Put that down,” Derek said.
I took a photograph.
He stepped toward me.
“Naomi.”
I picked up my jewelry box and binder.
Mom reached for the envelope.
“You’re misunderstanding.”
“Did I sign this?”
“It was preliminary paperwork.”
“Did I sign it?”
She looked at Dad.
Dad looked at Derek.
That little triangle told me more than any answer could.
I took another photograph.
Derek grabbed the edge of the application.
I let go before it tore.
“I have what I need.”
His smile disappeared.
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
“For once, I think I do.”
Lucy stood at the bottom of the stairs.
“Dad, are we staying here?”
Nobody answered.
I walked over and crouched beside her.
“Your room is ready.
This isn’t your fault.”
Derek pulled her gently behind him.
“Don’t talk to my daughter about this.”
“Then stop doing it in front of her.”
I carried the last box outside.
Mom followed me onto the porch.
“If you leave like this, don’t expect to come back.”
I put the box in my trunk.
“I’m not asking to come back.”
She looked almost startled.
As if leaving had always been a performance she expected to direct.
Sophie met me at her office an hour later.
She compared the photographed signature with the one on my identification.
“We need to notify the lender that you dispute this document.”
“Will they stop the loan?”
“They need to decide what to do after reviewing it.
We make sure they have the truth.”
She sent the notice with my authorization.
Then she helped me prepare a written account of what I had found.
I thought that would be the worst part of the day.
At four, my bank called.
Someone had tried to reset the password on my savings account.
May you like
The security question had been answered correctly.
My mother’s maiden name.
