Chapter 6 - The Signature They Thought Would Win
The forged deed had already entered the county recording system.
That changed everything.
Until then, the documents in Mason’s folder could have been dismissed as preparation.
Now someone had actually attempted to transfer ownership.
The new deed listed Teresa Bradley as fifty-one percent owner.
Leonard Crane’s company held the remaining forty-nine percent.
I stared at the screen.
“How can they do that?”
Ramirez explained that filing a document did not automatically make it legally valid.
But it could create enormous problems.
Especially if someone used the recorded deed to secure loans or sell an interest in the property.
“We need an attorney immediately.”
I called Daniel Price.
Daniel had been my college roommate before becoming a real estate attorney.
He came to the station that afternoon.
After examining the documents, he looked furious.
“This is fraud.”
“Can we stop it?”
“Yes.”
“But we need to move quickly.”
Daniel filed an emergency challenge.
He also contacted the county recorder and title insurer.
Then he asked the question that bothered everyone.
“Where is the notary?”
The forged signature had been notarized.
The stamp belonged to Elaine Porter.
Nobody recognized the name.
Police found Elaine’s address.
She worked from a small office thirty minutes outside Nashville.
When officers arrived, the office was empty.
Again.
Another person connected to my mother had disappeared.
Daniel looked at me.
“This operation is bigger than a family argument.”
I already knew that.
What I didn’t know was how long it had been happening.
That answer came from an unexpected place.
Aunt Betsy called Amy that evening.
Amy almost ignored it.
I told her she didn’t have to answer.
She did anyway.
Betsy sounded terrified.
“I need to talk to Connor.”
I took the phone.
“What do you want?”
She started crying.
“I didn’t know they were going this far.”
I said nothing.
Betsy continued.
“Teresa told us the party was supposed to pressure Amy.”
“Pressure her into what?”
“Leaving.”
My grip tightened.
“She said if enough relatives embarrassed her, Amy would finally take the baby and go stay with her sister.”
“Why?”
“So Teresa could convince you Amy had abandoned the marriage.”
I closed my eyes.
Betsy whispered.
“She wanted you angry.”
“She wanted you drinking.”
“She wanted you dependent on her.”
“And then?”
Silence.
“Betsy.”
“And then Leonard would help refinance the house.”
Amy covered her mouth.
I forced myself to stay calm.
“How much did my mother owe him?”
Betsy answered in a whisper.
“Not forty thousand.”
“That was only the first loan.”
“How much?”
“Almost four hundred thousand dollars.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did she spend four hundred thousand dollars on?”
Betsy began to sob.
“I don’t know.”
“But Connor, there’s something else.”
“At the party, Teresa told Mason that if you came home early, they had a backup plan.”
I felt ice spread through my chest.
“What backup plan?”
Betsy’s voice trembled.
May you like
“I only heard one word.”
“Frederick.”
