“He couldn’t even sign his own name.”
“He approved it earlier.”
Lorraine looked toward the windows.
Ethan spoke quietly.
“Mom.”
That single word carried more sadness than anger.
“Did you forge this?”
The answer was yes.
After Charles suffered his stroke, Lorraine found the trust while reviewing his estate.
She convinced herself the money belonged to the company.
To Ethan.
To the family name she’d spent decades protecting.
She believed Camille would never find out.
But Charles had left duplicate copies with Evelyn.
Two years after his death, Evelyn found them in storage.
That’s when Camille began searching.
“Why show Ava the photographs?” Ethan asked.
“Because you stopped returning my attorney’s calls.”
“You could have called me.”
“You blocked me.”
“You boycotted my wedding.”
“I was trying to stop you from making a mistake.”
Then she looked at me.
“You thought if Ava believed I was cheating, she’d leave.”
“I thought she deserved to know you were hiding things.”
The insult settled heavily.
Lorraine had used the one weakness in our marriage.
She simply dressed it up as betrayal.
“Did you send those photographs to anyone else?” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
A knot formed in my stomach.
“Who?”
“The board.”
Ethan froze.
“What did you tell them?”
“That you were secretly meeting someone preparing a claim against the company.”
“You made Camille sound like an extortionist.”
The family hadn’t spoken to Ethan in two years.
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