Rachel kept staring at the name on the back of the photograph.
Daniel Patterson.
The letters were unmistakable. Beneath them, the ink had bled slightly into the paper, as though whoever wrote the words had pressed too hard. Rachel looked from the photograph to Rebecca, then to Harris. Nobody spoke for several seconds.
“What does Daniel have to do with Margaret's signature?” Rachel asked.
Rebecca shook her head. “Not Margaret's real signature.”
Rachel looked at her.
“The signature on that transfer document was copied,” Rebecca said. “Daniel discovered it.”
“But Daniel was Eric's brother.”
“Yes.”
“And he was trying to expose him?”
“Yes.”
Rachel's thoughts raced backward through everything she had learned. Daniel's letter. Claire. The secret genetic test. Evelyn's notes. The money. The account that continued moving funds after Daniel's death.
Harris took the photograph from Rachel and examined it carefully.
“Where was this taken?”
“Arthur Bell's old office,” Rebecca said. “Eleven years ago.”
“Before the trust was transferred?”
“During the transition.”
Margaret's name appeared on the transfer because, according to the document, she had supposedly approved the change.
“She didn't,” Rebecca said. “Margaret wasn't even present when the document was signed.”
Rachel felt anger replacing confusion.
“Then why did nobody tell her?”
“Because Eric told everyone she had approved it.”
Harris looked at Rebecca. “And you know this because?”
“Because I was the one who typed the document.”
The admission silenced them.
Rebecca took a breath.
“Eric gave me the information. He told me Margaret had authorized the transfer. I prepared the paperwork and left it for him. Later, he returned it with Margaret's signature already on it.”
Rachel stared at her.
“You knew it was forged.”
“I suspected.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“No.” Rebecca looked down. “I was afraid to be certain.”
Harris held up the photograph.
“Where did Daniel get this?”
“Evelyn gave it to him.”
Rachel's attention sharpened.
“Then why does Daniel's name appear on the back?”
“Because he wrote it.”
“What was he trying to identify?”
Rebecca looked at the photograph again.
“The person who had access to the final trust documents.”
Rachel felt a chill.
“Eric?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed at the photograph.
“Look behind Evelyn.”
Rachel had already noticed the doorway, but now she examined the image more carefully.
There was another person standing partly outside the frame.
A man.
Only one shoulder and part of his face were visible.
Rachel leaned closer.
“Who is that?”
Rebecca's jaw tightened.
“Arthur Bell's assistant.”
Margaret's assistant.
Rachel looked at Harris.
“Do we know where he is?”
“He died six years ago,” Rebecca said.
Harris frowned. “Name?”
“Thomas Avery.”
Madeleine suddenly stepped forward.
“Avery?”
Rebecca turned.
“You know him?”
Madeleine's face had gone pale.
“Thomas was my husband's brother.”
Rachel stared at her.
“Claire's uncle?”
“Yes.”
The realization seemed to pass through everyone at once.
Madeleine gripped the strap of her handbag.
“Thomas was the one who told Eric where the original trust files were kept.”
Harris immediately took out his phone.
“Did he have access to the accounts?”
“No,” Rebecca said. “Not directly.”
“But he could access documents.”
“Yes.”
Rachel looked at the photograph.
“Then why did Evelyn write Daniel's name?”
Rebecca answered quietly.
“Because Daniel found out Thomas had copied the transfer papers.”
“Did Thomas forge Margaret's signature?”
“I don't know.”
“Then what did Daniel know?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“He knew the person who actually moved the money.”
Rachel felt her heartbeat quicken.
“Who?”
Rebecca looked at Harris.
“I never learned the full name.”
Harris's expression hardened.
“Then what do you know?”
“Only the initials.”
She took a folded paper from her coat.
“J.P.”
Rachel looked at the letters.
“Who is J.P.?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“That's what Daniel was trying to find out.”
Harris took the paper.
“Where did this come from?”
“Daniel's desk.”
“After his death?”
“No.”
Rebecca looked at Rachel.
“Before.”
Rachel remembered what Sophie had told them. Daniel had believed Claire was his daughter. He had written to Eric. He had tried to protect Claire.
But there had been something else.
A man investigating the trust.
A brother investigating his brother.
And a woman, Evelyn, secretly preserving evidence.
Rachel looked at the photograph again.
“Why would Evelyn take this picture?”
“To prove Margaret wasn't alone when the document was prepared.”
“But Margaret wasn't there.”
“Exactly.”
Rebecca pointed at Evelyn.
“She was there instead.”
Rachel's breath caught.
“So Evelyn knew the document was being prepared.”
“She knew something was wrong.”
“And she didn't stop it?”
“She tried.”
Rebecca's voice became quieter.
“Eric caught her.”
Rachel looked at her.
“What did he do?”
“He threatened to expose Daniel's relationship with Claire.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
It was always the same weapon.
Secrets.
Fear.
Reputation.
Rebecca continued.
“Evelyn backed away because she believed Eric would use Claire's illness against Daniel.”
Madeleine whispered, “He already had.”
Harris looked at Rachel.
“We need to get Margaret somewhere safe.”
Rachel nodded.
Then her phone vibrated.
Another unknown message.
Don't trust the woman with the recorder.
Rachel looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca saw the message.
“That's not me,” she said.
“I know.”
“Then someone is trying to make you doubt everyone.”
Rachel slipped the phone into her pocket.
“No.”
She looked at Harris.
“They're trying to make us turn against each other.”
Harris nodded.
“Then we don't give them the chance.”
A black sedan rolled slowly past the station.
Everyone noticed.
Harris stepped toward the road.
The car continued without stopping.
But Rachel had already memorized the license plate.
For the first time, she wasn't simply reacting to Eric's secrets.
She was beginning to see the structure beneath them.
And somewhere inside that structure was the person who had signed the final transfer.
Click here to continue reading: PART 18: The Name in the Ledger
The Name We Chose Together Was Written Down Before Our Daughter Had Even Taken Her First Breath
Part 17 of 20
