The last request made me turn around.
“My name?”
David ended the call before approaching me.
“One of the credit files contains a reference to you that I don’t recognize.”
My chest tightened.
“What reference?”
“It lists you as a possible guarantor on a family borrowing facility.”
I stared at him.
“I’ve never guaranteed any of Mother’s loans.”
“That’s why I’m having the original documents examined.”
I thought about the papers Eleanor had made me sign over the years.
Birthday trusts, household forms, estate acknowledgments, and endless agreements she insisted were routine.
Every document came with the same impatient command.
“Just sign it, Clara, and stop making everything difficult.”
A terrible possibility began taking shape.
“David, could she have used one of my old signatures?”
“I won’t speculate until we have evidence.”
I appreciated the restraint, but the fear remained.
A few minutes later, Chloe called.
