She later discovered documents from a real estate agency indicating that he had been making inquiries about selling the property without her knowledge.
I stopped reading for a moment.
The house had once belonged to Thomas’s parents. He had spent years repairing it, replacing damaged windows, and caring for the garden. The spring Emma turned seven, he planted a magnolia tree in the front yard.
When Thomas died, he left the property to her.
Emma kept it as a rental rather than selling it. She didn’t particularly need the income. She simply wanted to preserve a place that reminded her of her father.
I continued reading.
I asked Mr. Halden to examine the property records. He discovered a suspicious document connected to a proposed sale. It includes a copy of my signature, but I never signed that authorization.
My heart began pounding.
I don’t know how far Evan has gone. Mr. Halden is helping me investigate. If something happens before this is resolved, please make sure Dad’s house is protected.
I lowered the pages.
Until that moment, I had believed Evan’s affair was the worst betrayal my daughter had suffered.
Now I was beginning to understand that the situation was much more serious.
The following morning, I went to Mr. Halden’s office.
He had prepared two cups of tea and several documents on his desk. After greeting me, he pulled out a chair and invited me to sit.
“Did you manage to read Emma’s letter?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Every page.”
He placed several documents in front of me: property records, a real estate listing agreement, an unsigned draft purchase contract, and a document that supposedly authorized Evan to represent Emma in the proposed sale.
I studied the signature.
At first glance, it looked convincing. But something about it seemed wrong.
Emma had a distinctive habit when writing her name. She always made the second letter unusually tall.
The signature on the document didn’t have that characteristic.
“She didn’t write this,” I said.
Mr. Halden nodded.
“Emma noticed the same thing.”
I swallowed.
“Was the house actually sold?”
“No. The transaction never reached completion. Once Emma challenged the authorization, we informed the relevant parties that its validity was disputed.”
Relief washed over me.
“Thank goodness.”
The lawyer leaned forward.
“I need to be precise about what we know. There is evidence of an attempted property transaction and a disputed signature. However, we haven’t established who created that document.”
“But Evan wanted the house sold.”
“Yes.”
“And Emma refused.”
“That’s correct.”
I asked whether she had confronted him.
Mr. Halden hesitated before answering.
“She told me she intended to speak with him after consulting a family-law attorney.”
“When was that?”
“The day before she died.”
I froze.
Emma had died in a car accident. According to the police report, she had been driving home on a rainy evening when her vehicle left the road and crashed into a tree. The medical team had told us that both she and her unborn child died before help could reach them.
I had accepted the explanation because I was too devastated to question anything.
But suddenly, I remembered her phone call that afternoon.
She had tried to reach me. I was at the pharmacy and hadn’t answered. Later, I listened to her voicemail once before putting my phone away because hearing her voice hurt too much.
I took out my phone and searched for the recording.
Then I pressed play.
“Hi, Mom. It’s me.”
Her voice filled the office.
She sounded warm, although a little tired.
“I’m coming over tomorrow. There’s something important I need to tell you.”
After a brief pause, she continued.
“Don’t worry. I’m okay.”
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