Chapter 9 - The Signature Rachel Had Practiced On
Robert did not understand the message at first.
Then he remembered.
Months before the commercial loan was issued, Rachel had asked him to help with vendor paperwork because she was considering bringing a “family adviser” into the business.
Robert had signed several blank sample authorization forms during a kitchen-table discussion.
He thought they were drafts.
“You signed blank pages?”
Daniel could barely believe it.
“They weren’t loan documents.”
“Dad.”
“I know.”
Robert sounded older than sixty-seven.
Rachel had kept them.
At least one signature appeared to have been digitally reproduced onto later documents.
Whether that legally constituted forgery was for investigators and attorneys to determine.
But the source was suddenly clear.
One clue from earlier finally made sense.
Rachel always wanted paperwork completed quickly.
Another followed.
She had discouraged Robert from visiting her office after the fifty-thousand-dollar loan.
And the third was worse.
Months earlier, when Linda jokingly asked why Rachel kept calling Robert her “silent partner,” Rachel had reacted with disproportionate anger.
Daniel had forgotten it.
Now he remembered every word.
He drove to Robert’s house.
His father had already begun gathering old emails.
One thread contained an attachment Rachel sent eighteen months earlier.
Robert opened it.
A draft consulting agreement.
His signature appeared on page four.
But the email timestamp came from three weeks before Robert remembered signing anything.
Daniel felt his skin go cold.
“Dad, this could show she was already using your signature electronically.”
“Maybe.”
They did not pretend they understood the evidentiary value.
They forwarded it to Robert’s attorney.
Then Daniel asked the question he had been avoiding.
“Did you ever tell Rachel she could use your signature?”
Robert looked at him.
“No.”
“Ever?”
“No.”
Daniel believed him.
But belief had become expensive.
He wanted corroboration.
That evening Rachel sent another message.
You’re all acting like I built this alone.
Daniel replied for the first time.
Then tell me who else knew.
Her answer came six minutes later.
Your mother knew the company was failing before you did.
May you like
Daniel stared at the screen.
Linda had said nothing about that.
