Chapter 6 - MY MOTHER HAD SIGNED MY NAME BEFORE
Mom had been a notary for years.
Church documents.
Neighborhood paperwork.
Family affidavits.
I never thought about it.
Now her stamp appeared beneath a signature that wasn't mine.
Twice.
Caleb remained cautious.
“We establish facts before accusations.”
I nodded.
The bank produced identification logs.
The trust amendment was signed at my parents' house.
I was in Seattle that week attending a logistics conference.
Airline records proved it.
The credit-line increase four months ago was electronic.
Authentication questions included information Mom knew.
Childhood street.
First car.
Father's middle name.
Someone created the fake email.
Someone knew my Social Security number.
My parents had all of it.
Then the bank found something older.
A notarized authorization from six years earlier.
My supposed consent allowing Dad to reimburse himself from Lily's trust for “family-provided childcare and support services.”
Amount:
Up to $2,000 monthly.
I stared.
“What childcare?”
Lily had lived with me full-time.
My parents babysat occasionally.
Birthday dinner.
Maybe one weekend every few months.
Yet trust statements showed more than $38,000 in “family caregiver reimbursement.”
Most went directly into my parents' account.
I called Mom.
She answered with:
“Are you happy now?”
“No.”
“You've destroyed Austin's engagement.”
“No.”
“Jyn is threatening to leave him.”
“That's between them.”
“Your father can't sleep.”
“That's between him and his doctor.”
“You've always been cold.”
I almost laughed.
“Mom, did you notarize my signature on Lily's trust amendment?”
She went silent.
Then:
“Your father handled those papers.”
“Did you watch me sign?”
“Jordan—”
“Yes or no?”
“Don't speak to me like I'm on trial.”
“You signed your name under a statement saying you witnessed mine.”
Her breathing sharpened.
“We were doing what was necessary.”
There it was.
Not denial.
“What was necessary?”
“Keeping this family afloat.”
“With Lily's money?”
“She had more than she needed.”
I stood so fast my chair struck the kitchen cabinet.
“She was six!”
“She had you!”
The words came instantly.
And finally, brutally, the logic was complete.
Lily had me.
Therefore she needed less.
Austin had them.
Therefore he deserved more.
Mom continued.
“You make good money. You always do. Lily has health insurance. She has college options. Austin didn't have that kind of stability.”
“Austin had two parents paying for everything until he was thirty-four.”
“He struggles differently.”
“He spends differently.”
Mom started crying.
“You're going to send your father to jail over paperwork?”
I closed my eyes.
“I'm not sending anyone anywhere.”
“Then stop the lawyer.”
“No.”
“Jordan!”
“You should have thought about consequences before signing my name.”
She hung up.
An hour later, Jyn called.
She had left Nassau.
Alone.
The engagement was apparently “paused.”
Austin had admitted his debts.
But Jyn had discovered something else.
“He told me the one-cent transfer was proof you were having a breakdown.”
I laughed.
“Convenient.”
“He said your parents were considering whether you were stable enough to manage Lily's medical decisions.”
My laughter stopped.
“What?”
Jyn sounded uncomfortable.
“He said your mom had documents.”
“What documents?”
“She called them guardianship backups.”
I stared at the wall.
May you like
My parents had not only been using Lily's trust.
They had apparently considered what would happen if I became legally inconvenient.
