“This is my signature. Rachel, what did I sign?”
“The refinance packet I left on the counter three weeks ago. The one you told me you’d read later. You bought yourself out. My parents’ loan funded the buyout.”
“You tricked me,” he said. “That’s forgery. That’s fraud.”
“You never read anything that wasn’t about your mother.”
“No,” I said quietly. “Forgery means someone signed your name. You signed every page yourself.”
“You hid it.”
“No. You ignored it. The bank emailed every disclosure. Nathan even told me they offered you independent legal review. You declined because you said you didn’t have time.”
“You knew I trusted you.”
“I knew you never read anything that wasn’t about your mother.”
“So… that’s it?”
“You are legally no longer a co-owner, David. The house is in my name.”
David stared at the papers for a long moment, his fingers tightening around the edge of the folder.
