Chapter 3 - The Night Chris Visited the Law Office
Nicole turned toward her husband.
“You were there?”
Chris didn't answer.
“Chris.”
“I was dropping off documents.”
“At two in the morning?”
Bell leaned toward him.
“Do not answer.”
Judge Brown looked up.
“That advice would be more persuasive if you weren't potentially part of the same issue, Mr. Bell.”
The courtroom gallery murmured.
My parents sat completely still.
My mother looked at Nicole as if she were the victim.
Old reflexes survive evidence.
I remembered childhood arguments.
If Nicole broke something:
Why did you leave it where she could reach it?
If Nicole lied:
She was scared you’d be angry.
If Nicole took my clothes:
You should learn to share.
Golden children do not become entitled alone.
Families train them.
Judge Brown recessed the property hearing and ordered the suspected forged agreement preserved as evidence.
Nobody was arrested.
Not yet.
That disappointed Nicole.
She expected drama.
Real investigations often begin with paperwork.
A detective from the county prosecutor’s office approached both sides.
Chris requested an attorney.
Bell already had one problem.
Nicole did something more interesting.
She pointed at me.
“She’s setting us up.”
I almost smiled.
“How?”
“You've always hated me.”
There it was.
Not evidence.
History.
My parents came toward us.
Dad looked furious.
“Tracy, you’ve made your point.”
“My point?”
“Your sister made a mistake.”
Nicole snapped:
“I didn't forge anything!”
Dad lowered his voice.
“This doesn't need to become criminal.”
I stared at him.
Someone had attempted to take a property worth $2.8 million using fraudulent documents.
To my father, that was still a family disagreement.
Then my mother said:
“Think about her children.”
Nicole had no children.
She and Chris had been trying for years.
Mom used hypothetical grandchildren as emotional leverage.
Almost impressive.
I turned to Nicole.
“Where did you get the agreement?”
“Arthur.”
Bell’s lawyer immediately intervened.
Nicole froze.
Wrong answer.
Chris looked at her sharply.
She had just placed responsibility on Bell.
Bell turned toward Chris.
Three allies beginning to calculate who might become expendable first.
Good.
Then Maya Chen finally entered the hallway.
Nicole recognized her.
Everyone in Seattle real estate did.
“What is she doing here?”
Maya handed me a file.
“We got the bank response.”
My stomach tightened.
“What bank response?”
Chris's face changed.
Maya noticed.
Then quietly said:
“Someone attempted to open a $1.4 million line of credit against Hollow Pine two months before the lawsuit.”
My father frowned.
“That’s impossible.”
Maya looked at him.
“No, Mr. Manning.”
“The application used your daughter’s house as collateral.”
Then she turned to me.
“And Richard Manning was listed as the verifying family contact.”
I looked at my father.
May you like
He went pale.
For the first time, the betrayal moved out of Nicole’s marriage and directly into my childhood home.
