Chapter 5
The attorney's name was Maya Kent, and her office occupied the second floor of a small building between a pharmacy and a tax preparer. She didn't look shocked by the photographs Elijah spread across her desk. That made Tasha feel both safer and more afraid.
"People can record documents that later turn out to be invalid," Maya explained. "A recorder generally doesn't decide whether every signature is genuine. Recording is notice of a claim. It isn't proof that the claim is valid."
"So they can't take my house?" Tasha asked.
"They may not have the legal right. But a recorded option can cloud your title until it's resolved. We need the actual document and we need to move carefully."
Elijah sat on the edge of his chair with his backpack between his feet. "And the money?"
Maya scanned the receipt. "It matters. But don't assume it answers everything. A payment to your father's company doesn't establish whether your mother authorized a property transaction. It does make me want every agreement between Reed Contracting and Bell Redevelopment."
Tasha folded her hands. "I told Owen in writing that I wasn't selling."
She pulled the email up on her phone, then stopped herself from thrusting it across the table. Maya had asked them to slow down, to preserve originals and explain how each document had been obtained. Tasha suddenly understood why. Anger could make a true fact look uncertain if it was presented carelessly.
Elijah watched Maya label the printed pages and arrange them in date order. Nobody at home had ever treated his observations with that kind of care. For weeks he'd been told he was too young to understand business. The attorney didn't tell him he was an expert; she simply asked what he had seen, listened, and wrote the answer down accurately. It was enough.
"Keep that message. Also, do not delete any texts."
Maya requested the recorded memorandum through the county portal. The digital copy arrived while they were still sitting there. She read it twice, then turned her screen toward Tasha.
The first page described an exclusive option for Bell Redevelopment Services to purchase the entire parcel at 214 Bell Street. Not the narrow strip behind the garage. Not permission to measure a fence. The entire house and land.
The final page showed Tasha's name in a signature block.
Tasha leaned closer. "That's supposed to be my signature?"
The letters were rounded, almost like hers, but the capital R curled backward. Her real signature ended in a small underline she had used since high school. This one stopped sharply.
"I did not sign that," she said.
Maya didn't announce fraud as a proven fact. She printed the page and asked Tasha to write her name three times on blank paper, explaining that a handwriting comparison was only one piece of possible evidence.
"Who witnessed the signature?" Elijah asked.
Maya pointed to the notarial certificate. "Owen Price."
Tasha stared. "He notarized his own deal?"
"A notary should not notarize a signature without the signer personally appearing and meeting the applicable legal requirements. Whether his interest in this transaction also disqualifies him depends on state rules, but a certificate for an appearance that never occurred would be a serious problem."
"He never even came near me with a pen," Tasha said.
Maya highlighted another clause. The option was exercisable within ninety days. A separate paragraph purported to give Bell permission to conduct intrusive inspections and remove outbuildings upon notice.
"They could tear down our garage?" Elijah asked.
"Not simply because this paper says so," Maya replied. "But they may attempt entry. We'll send written notice that ownership and consent are disputed. I also want to know whether an inspection is scheduled."
Her assistant called the title company named in the memorandum. Its representative would not share confidential client details, but accepted notice of a disputed signature and agreed to route it to counsel.
Outside the office, traffic moved as though nothing in the world had shifted. Tasha stood on the sidewalk reading the document again. Her mother's house had been reduced to a parcel number and a purchase figure below its likely market value.
"Dad knew the price?" Elijah asked.
"I don't know what he knew."
"He knew there was cash."
"Yes."
"He knew Owen wanted something."
"Yes."
"Then why are we acting like he was tricked into everything?"
Tasha met his eyes. "We aren't. I can hold him responsible and still need to know who forged my name."
Elijah looked away. His anger had kept him moving; uncertainty made his voice smaller. "I don't want him home when Nia and I go back."
"I'll talk to him," she said. "You get a say in where you feel safe."
As they reached the car, Maya called. Bell Redevelopment's lawyers had returned her message unusually quickly.
May you like
According to them, Tasha had not only signed the option.
She had appeared before Owen three days earlier to confirm that the entire family would vacate if the option was exercised.
