Chapter 8 - A Mother-in-Law's Signature
Julian blamed everything on stress when he learned about the investigation.
He appeared outside the courthouse beside Evelyn, speaking calmly to reporters.
"We want Maya to recover," he said.
"Our only concern is her well-being."
He did not mention that his attorneys had demanded possession of her belongings.
He did not mention the door that had been fitted with a keypad.
And he did not mention Rosa.
Rachel urged Maya not to litigate her story in front of cameras.
Maya agreed, but watching Julian smile was costing her dearly.
"He gets to look like the loving husband," she said.
"For now," Rachel answered.
Investigators identified a property-management invoice approving the guest-house lock.
Evelyn had signed it.
Her lawyers argued that any lock was a standard estate-security measure.
That argument might have been plausible if the entry logs had not shown repeated override codes entered from outside at odd hours.
One code belonged to Evelyn's office.
Marcus's name appeared on the installation request as a witness.
He had insisted he knew nothing about the guest house.
When Ortiz asked him about the invoice, he claimed his signature had been added electronically without permission.
The next day, his office reported its computer had been stolen.
I could hear the machinery of damage control beginning to fail.
But that afternoon Maya received an email apparently from me.
It told her that I was tired of the embarrassment and would no longer support her.
She called immediately, voice shaking.
"Mom, did you send this?"
"No."
We preserved the message and sent it to her attorney.
Maya took a breath, then another.
"I almost believed it," she whispered.
"That's why they sent it," I said.
Minutes later, Rachel called us into her office.
"The forged message isn't the worst part," she said.
May you like
"Someone has filed for an emergency guardianship hearing."
