Chapter 4 - HIS MOTHER KNEW
The elevator doors opened.
Simon stepped out first.
His mother was beside him.
Patricia Hart had hugged me every Christmas for nine years.
She had called me the daughter she never had.
She had once cried when I spent three days caring for her after surgery.
Now she looked at me like I was an intruder.
“What are you doing here?”
Not hello.
Not Rachel.
Not what happened.
What are you doing here?
I stared at her.
“You knew.”
Her eyes flickered.
Just once.
Enough.
Simon moved between us.
“Rachel, leave.”
Denise stepped forward.
“Mr. Hart, this property is currently reviewing possible fraudulent documentation associated with Unit 304.”
Simon’s jaw tightened.
“This is a private family matter.”
“No.”
Denise’s voice sharpened.
“It is now a property management matter.”
Patricia looked at Emily.
“You were supposed to keep this quiet.”
Emily recoiled.
“Excuse me?”
Simon turned toward his mother.
“Mom.”
That one word told me everything.
Patricia knew Emily too.
Emily looked at me.
Then back at Patricia.
“You knew about Rachel?”
Patricia closed her eyes.
Simon swore.
Emily started laughing.
Not because anything was funny.
Because sometimes betrayal becomes so ridiculous that your body doesn’t know what else to do.
“You sat in my kitchen.”
Emily pointed at Patricia.
“You drank wine with me.”
Patricia stiffened.
“This is complicated.”
“You told me Simon deserved someone committed.”
My chest tightened.
Emily’s voice cracked.
“You told me his last relationship had destroyed his confidence.”
Patricia looked away.
I understood then.
Simon hadn’t managed two lives alone.
His mother had helped him.
I stepped toward her.
“How long?”
Patricia didn’t answer.
“How long did you know?”
“Rachel—”
“How long?”
“About Emily?”
“Yes.”
She looked at Simon.
“Mom, don’t.”
I laughed.
“Still protecting him?”
Patricia’s lips tightened.
“Two years.”
Emily went completely still.
I felt nothing for several seconds.
Then something inside me hardened.
“You invited me to Thanksgiving.”
Patricia said nothing.
“You gave me a Christmas stocking.”
“Rachel.”
“You called me your daughter.”
“I cared about you.”
“No.”
My voice remained frighteningly calm.
“You cared about what I did for your son.”
Patricia’s expression changed.
“You have no idea how difficult Simon’s life has been.”
Melissa made an incredulous sound behind me.
I raised my hand.
I didn’t want Melissa interrupting.
I wanted to hear this.
“What exactly was difficult?”
Patricia crossed her arms.
“You always wanted more.”
“More than what?”
“More commitment.”
“Nine years.”
“You were never satisfied.”
“I paid half his rent.”
“This isn’t about money.”
“I took you to medical appointments.”
“I appreciated that.”
“I hosted your birthday dinner.”
“Yes.”
“I bought your Christmas presents.”
“You chose to.”
“And while I was doing all of that, you were visiting his fiancée?”
Patricia flinched.
Emily whispered.
“Don’t call me that.”
I looked at her.
She had removed the ring.
It sat on the kitchen counter.
Simon reached for it.
Emily slapped his hand away.
“Don’t.”
Simon looked furious now.
“You’re both being manipulated.”
I almost admired the audacity.
“By whom?”
“Each other.”
Emily stared at him.
“You told me she was your cousin.”
“I was going to explain.”
“When?”
“I was trying to leave her without destroying her.”
I laughed.
“By committing identity fraud?”
His face changed.
Just slightly.
Patricia spoke immediately.
“Do not use words like that.”
I turned toward her.
“Like fraud?”
“You don’t know the circumstances.”
“My signature was forged.”
Simon stepped toward me.
“You signed documents.”
“No.”
“Yes, you did.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“What documents?”
He hesitated.
Patricia interrupted.
“She signed things without reading them.”
I stared at her.
That sentence was prepared.
They had discussed this possibility.
Maybe before today.
Maybe long before I left.
“Which things?”
Simon rubbed his forehead.
“This isn’t the place.”
“Then explain the $35,000 credit line.”
Emily’s head snapped toward him.
Simon froze.
Patricia looked at him.
Interesting.
She hadn’t known about that.
“Thirty-five thousand dollars?”
Emily whispered.
Simon turned toward me.
“You’re not supposed to have access to that.”
There it was.
The mistake.
The sentence left his mouth before he could pull it back.
Nobody moved.
I took out my phone.
“Say that again.”
His eyes dropped to the phone.
“You’re recording me?”
“I am now.”
He stepped backward.
Patricia’s voice turned sharp.
“Turn that off.”
“No.”
“Rachel.”
“No.”
Denise quietly moved toward the doorway.
I think she realized the argument had become evidence.
Simon pointed at me.
“You want to destroy me?”
“I moved out.”
“You’re calling banks.”
“Because you used my identity.”
“You’re talking to property management.”
“Because you used my identity.”
“You dragged Emily into this.”
I looked at him in disbelief.
“You put her in an apartment under my name.”
His face reddened.
Then he said something I had never heard him say before.
“Everything I did was for our future.”
I blinked.
“Whose future?”
He didn’t answer.
That was when a man appeared in the hallway.
He was tall.
Silver-haired.
Expensive suit.
Maybe sixty.
Patricia saw him and immediately stopped speaking.
Simon looked relieved.
That scared me.
The man approached.
“Simon.”
“Mr. Voss.”
The man’s eyes moved from Simon to Patricia.
Then to Emily.
Then to me.
“Which one is Rachel Carter?”
I raised my hand slightly.
“I am.”
His expression became unreadable.
“My name is Leonard Voss.”
“I don’t know you.”
“No.”
He looked at Simon.
“But apparently your information has been appearing on documents connected to my company for quite some time.”
Simon went pale.
Patricia whispered.
“Leonard, not here.”
Leonard ignored her.
My heart began pounding again.
“What company?”
“Hart-Voss Development Group.”
I stared at him.
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“That,” Leonard said, “is precisely the problem.”
Simon moved toward him.
“Leonard.”
“Don’t.”
The older man’s voice turned cold.
“You told me she knew.”
“Knew what?”
I asked.
Leonard reached into his briefcase.
Simon grabbed his arm.
“Don’t show her.”
Melissa immediately stepped forward.
Denise called security.
Emily backed away.
Leonard jerked free.
Then he handed me a folder.
On the front was my full legal name.
Inside was a shareholder agreement.
Rachel Carter.
Thirty percent ownership.
My signature.
Fake again.
But that was not the worst part.
The document showed an initial capital contribution of $210,000.
Supposedly from me.
I looked at Leonard.
“I never invested two hundred and ten thousand dollars.”
His face hardened.
“Then we have a much bigger problem than I thought.”
Simon suddenly lunged for the folder.
Melissa stepped between us.
Security arrived at the door.
Simon stopped.
For the first time since I had known him, I saw real fear in his face.
Not fear of losing me.
Not fear of losing Milo.
Not fear of sleeping on a mattress without a bed frame.
Fear of being discovered.
Leonard looked at him.
“You told me Rachel authorized every transfer.”
Simon said nothing.
“You told me Rachel was your business partner.”
Nothing.
“You told me she wanted to remain silent because of her employer.”
Nothing.
Leonard turned to me.
“There are loans.”
My fingers tightened around the folder.
“What loans?”
“Commercial loans.”
“How much?”
His eyes remained on Simon.
“Just under two million dollars.”
My knees almost gave out.
Melissa caught my elbow.
I looked at Simon.
He did not deny it.
May you like
And that was the moment I realized my relationship had ended twelve hours earlier.
But my real nightmare had been living with me for years.
