Brandon turned on Mom.
“You said the paperwork was clean.”
There it was.
Not denial.
Complaint.
Mom hissed, “Be quiet.”
I almost laughed, but the sound would not come.
“Dad,” I said again.
“Did you sign as witness?”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
Mom stepped between us.
“He signed what I asked him to sign.
That does not mean anything.”
Mercer answered before I could.
“It means quite a lot when his signature appears as a witness to a deceased woman’s signature.”
Dad finally spoke.
“I didn’t see Evelyn sign it.”
The porch became completely still.
Mom closed her eyes.
Brandon whispered something I could not hear.
I gripped the edge of the door.
“Then why did you sign?”
Dad looked directly at me for the first time.
“Your mother told me Grandma had signed the paperwork before she passed.
She said the attorney needed a witness certification because something had been missed.”
Mercer’s voice sharpened.
“Did you witness Evelyn sign that document?”
“No.”
“Were you present when her signature was placed on it?”
“No.”
“Did you know the document was dated April 2?”
Dad swallowed.
“I didn’t look at the date.”
Mom spun toward him.
“You knew what we were trying to do.”
He stared at her.
“I knew you said you were fixing estate paperwork.”
“You knew Brandon needed the money.”
That sentence hung between all of us.
Brandon’s head jerked toward her.
“Mom.”
She realized too late what she had admitted.
Mercer spoke into the silence.
“I think everyone should stop talking until they have independent legal advice.”
Mom ignored him.
She pointed through the gap in the door at me.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it? To make everybody crawl because Grandma always favored you.”
I felt the old reflex rise inside me—the need to explain, defend, prove I had never asked Grandma to choose me.
Then I looked at the chain across the door.
A tiny piece of metal.
Such a small thing to hold a boundary.
“No,” I said.
“I wanted you not to sell something that wasn’t yours.”
Brandon stepped closer.
“You’re acting like I stole it.”
“The deposit came from your account.”
