Chapter 4
The man stood in the doorway with one hand still on the knob.
His eyes moved from Linda to Ethan.
Then to me holding Noah.
Nobody spoke.
Finally Ethan said, “Who are you?”
The man cleared his throat.
“I think I have the wrong house.”
“No, you don’t,” I said.
He looked at me.
“You were here Tuesday.”
His face tightened.
Linda stepped toward him.
“Martin, leave.”
Ethan immediately moved between them.
“No one is leaving.”
Martin glanced at the open door.
Ethan closed it.
Not violently.
Slowly.
Then he locked it.
Linda’s face changed.
“Ethan, don’t be stupid.”
He held up the transfer document.
“Is this your notarization?”
Martin stared at it.
“I can’t discuss a client’s documents.”
“My wife is the person whose signature you notarized.”
Martin looked at me again.
I could see the calculation happening behind his eyes.
“I witnessed her signature.”
“No,” I said.
His jaw tightened.
“You signed the document in front of me.”
“You told me it was insurance paperwork.”
“I did not.”
Linda spoke quickly.
“He never said that.”
I looked at her.
“You did.”
“I explained everything.”
“No, you didn’t.”
Martin reached for the door.
“I should go.”
Ethan didn’t move.
“My wife believes she was misled into signing a deed while impaired by medication.”
Martin’s face paled.
“I don’t know anything about medication.”
“Did she appear impaired?”
“No.”
“You answered fast.”
“I’m a professional.”
“Then you won’t mind speaking to the police.”
Martin stared at him.
Linda’s voice cracked like a whip.
“Stop threatening people.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I’m not threatening anyone.”
He held up his phone.
“I’m calling for help.”
Martin suddenly turned to Linda.
“You said this was settled.”
The room went still.
Ethan lowered his phone slightly.
“What was settled?”
Martin realized his mistake.
“Nothing.”
Linda’s eyes burned into him.
“Leave.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“No. What was settled?”
Martin ran a hand across his mouth.
“I was told Emily had agreed.”
“Agreed to what?” I demanded.
He looked trapped.
“To transfer the property into Linda’s name temporarily.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“You notarized it.”
“That doesn’t mean I know the reason.”
Ethan shook the papers.
“There’s a guardianship document too.”
Martin’s eyes moved to Linda.
That was enough.
“You knew about that one,” Ethan said.
Martin’s silence answered for him.
I felt Noah breathe against my chest.
Tiny.
Warm.
Completely trusting.
I felt suddenly furious.
“You were helping her take my baby.”
“No,” Martin said quickly.
“I notarized signatures.”
“You lied about what I was signing.”
“I never spoke to you about the content.”
“That’s technically true,” I said.
Linda had explained the papers.
Martin had simply watched.
That distinction probably mattered to him.
Maybe legally.
It didn’t matter to me.
“You saw me barely able to keep my eyes open.”
“I saw a tired woman.”
“I had given birth seven days earlier.”
“I didn’t know that.”
Linda looked at him sharply.
Martin noticed.
So did Ethan.
“You knew she just had a baby,” Ethan said.
Martin swallowed.
“I may have known there was a newborn.”
“You walked past the bassinet.”
“That doesn’t tell me when she gave birth.”
“Did you verify she understood the documents?”
Martin’s voice became defensive.
“She answered my questions.”
“What questions?”
“Was she signing voluntarily? Did she understand she was signing legal documents?”
“And when she said yes, you notarized them.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“But you never asked whether I understood that one of them transferred my house.”
Martin said nothing.
A siren sounded faintly in the distance.
Linda’s head snapped toward the window.
“You called them?”
Ethan looked at his phone.
“I called while you were arguing.”
“You called the police on your mother.”
“I called the police because someone may have committed fraud against my wife.”
Linda started crying.
Instantly.
It was astonishing.
One second she was furious.
The next her face collapsed.
“Ethan, please.”
He looked exhausted.
“Mom.”
“I made a mistake.”
The words surprised all of us.
Martin looked at her.
Linda ignored him.
She moved toward Ethan.
“I panicked.”
“About what?”
“About losing you.”
Ethan’s face tightened.
“You were losing me because you were hurting my wife.”
“I didn’t mean this.”
“You had legal documents prepared.”
“I was scared.”
“Of Emily?”
“Of being alone.”
Her voice cracked.
“I gave everything to raise you.”
Ethan looked away.
Linda touched his arm.
“You got married.”
He didn’t respond.
“You moved into her family home.”
Still nothing.
“Then she became pregnant.”
I stared at Linda.
There was something in her tone.
Something ugly and wounded.
“Every part of your life became about Emily.”
Ethan pulled his arm away.
“That is what happens when you build a family.”
“And where was I supposed to go?”
“You’re my mother.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“I was your family first.”
I could barely believe what I was hearing.
Ethan looked equally stunned.
“This isn’t a competition.”
“It became one the day she married you.”
“Linda,” I whispered.
She turned toward me.
The sadness vanished.
Hatred replaced it.
“You took everything.”
My mouth fell open.
“I didn’t take him.”
“You took his time.”
“He’s my husband.”
“You took his loyalty.”
“He loves you.”
“Not like before.”
Ethan stepped between us.
“Enough.”
Linda pointed around the room.
“And then this house.”
“It’s Emily’s house,” Ethan said.
“Exactly.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Your father left me with nothing. I spent my life making sure you would never be powerless like I was.”
“So you tried to steal Emily’s house?”
“I tried to protect your future.”
“By putting it in your name?”
“So it could never be taken from you.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You hear how insane that sounds, right?”
Her face hardened.
“Careful.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You don’t get to scare me with that voice anymore.”
Linda froze.
For one strange second, Ethan looked like a boy again.
Not the man standing in our living room.
A frightened child.
I had seen that expression before whenever Linda became angry.
I suddenly understood more than I wanted to.
The sirens grew louder.
Martin reached for the door again.
Ethan said, “Stay.”
“I’m not required to.”
“No. But leaving right now probably won’t look good.”
Martin stopped.
A knock came seconds later.
“Police.”
Linda’s face drained of color.
Ethan opened the door.
Two officers entered.
One was a woman in her forties.
The other was a younger man.
The woman looked around.
“Who called?”
“I did,” Ethan said.
“My mother may have fraudulently transferred my wife’s home into her name.”
The officer looked at me.
“And there may be an issue involving medication.”
Her expression sharpened.
“Are you feeling ill?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you intentionally take more medication than prescribed?”
“No.”
“Do you believe someone gave you additional medication without your knowledge?”
I looked at Linda.
“Yes.”
Linda exploded.
“She is lying!”
Noah startled again.
The female officer immediately lifted one hand.
“Ma’am, lower your voice.”
“This is my son’s house.”
“It’s mine,” I said.
The officer looked at me.
“Who is the legal owner?”
“I am.”
Linda opened her mouth.
The officer raised her hand again.
“I’m asking her.”
I almost cried.
Such a simple thing.
Someone asking me and actually waiting for my answer.
“My grandmother left it to me.”
“Do you want this woman in your home?”
I looked at Linda.
She stared back.
For weeks, I had been afraid to upset her.
Afraid Ethan would think I was difficult.
Afraid motherhood had made me too emotional.
Afraid I was remembering things incorrectly.
Now, for the first time, I wasn’t afraid of her.
“No.”
Linda’s eyes widened.
The officer nodded.
“Then after we determine what’s happening with these documents, she’ll need to leave unless there’s some legal right for her to remain.”
“There is,” Linda said quickly.
Everyone looked at her.
She smiled.
Then she reached slowly into her purse.
Ethan tensed.
The officer said, “Keep your hands where I can see them.”
Linda obeyed.
“There’s another document in my purse.”
“What document?”
She looked directly at me.
“A lease.”
My stomach dropped.
Ethan stared at her.
“What lease?”
Linda’s smile grew.
“The one Emily signed giving me legal tenancy in this house for five years.”
I whispered, “I never signed a lease.”
Linda tilted her head.
“You signed more papers than you remember.”
The female officer took a slow breath.
“Ma’am, step away from the purse.”
Linda did.
The officer opened it herself.
She removed another folded packet.
I saw my signature on the last page.
My knees almost gave out.
The officer examined it.
Then she frowned.
“What?” Ethan asked.
She held the page closer to the light.
Martin suddenly backed toward the wall.
The officer looked at him.
“You notarized this too?”
Martin said nothing.
The officer looked again.
Then her voice became cold.
“Interesting.”
“What?” I asked.
She pointed to the date.
“This was supposedly signed six weeks ago.”
I stared at it.
“So?”
She looked at me.
“Were you in the state six weeks ago?”
“Yes.”
Ethan suddenly shook his head.
“No, she wasn’t.”
Everyone turned toward him.
He looked at me.
“Emily, six weeks ago you were in Chicago with your sister.”
I remembered.
Three days.
My sister’s baby shower.
I had flown there alone.
Ethan looked at Linda.
“You forged this one.”
Linda’s face went blank.
Martin whispered, “I didn’t notarize that.”
The female officer looked at the stamp.
“Your seal says otherwise.”
Martin’s shoulders collapsed.
“I didn’t.”
Linda turned on him.
“Don’t you dare.”
And in that moment, Martin made his decision.
May you like
He pointed at Linda.
“She stole my seal.”
