Chapter 13 - The Deadline
Martin stood in the hallway holding Dad's blue ledger.
He looked as though he hadn't slept.
“I took it from Eliam,” he said.
“How?”
“He left it in my car.”
I didn't believe him.
Mom moved behind me.
Martin raised one hand.
“I'm not here to hurt anyone.”
“Then put the ledger on the table and leave.”
He did.
Before he reached the door, he turned back.
“Eliam says he'll file the forged documents with the estate court on Friday.”
Friday was forty-eight hours away.
The filing could create legal complications and expose me to public allegations even if the documents were ultimately disproved.
Naomi secured an emergency appointment with the estate attorney and prepared objections.
Detective Ruiz confirmed that criminal investigators were reviewing the financial records.
No one promised an arrest before Friday.
I wanted immediate justice, but the process moved at the speed of verified evidence.
Eliam exploited every hour.
He called my employer and suggested I had misused confidential client data.
Human resources placed me on temporary administrative leave while they checked his claims.
He told my mother I was being manipulated.
He sent me a carefully worded email offering to avoid court if I signed a mutual release.
The release waived financial claims against him and confirmed that all marital property was accurately disclosed.
I read it twice.
“Why would he need this if he's innocent?” I asked Naomi.
“He wouldn't,” she said.
At six that evening, a courier arrived with a second envelope.
Inside was the original photograph of my father beside a woman I had never met.
On the back, in Dad's writing, were the words: IF ELIAM LIES ABOUT HIS MOTHER, CALL HER.
There was a phone number.
I dialed it.
A woman answered with a quiet, steady voice.
“I've been expecting this call, Ellen.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Catherine Vale.”
She paused.
May you like
“And your husband has been telling people I'm dead for fourteen years.”
