Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO SIGNED FOR ME
The plane ticket changed everything.
Daniel insisted it wasn't his.
The police didn't believe him.
The ticket had been purchased from his account.
The passenger was listed as me.
The infant was listed as my daughter.
And the destination was a state where Daniel's family owned property.
Mara stared at the ticket.
"Why would he buy a ticket in her name?"
Claire answered.
"Because he wanted her to disappear."
Daniel shouted from downstairs.
"That's ridiculous!"
The officer told him to remain silent.
I held my daughter tighter.
Then Mara noticed something else.
"Wait."
She took the ticket.
"Look at the date."
Tomorrow.
But the hearing was next week.
"Why leave before the hearing?" I asked.
Mara looked at me.
"Because he doesn't intend to let there be a hearing."
My blood ran cold.
Daniel's plan wasn't custody.
It was removal.
If he could make me appear unstable, he could justify taking the baby.
If he could get me to leave the state, he could create a jurisdiction problem.
If he could make me disappear voluntarily, he could control the story.
Everything suddenly made sense.
But then the officer asked the most important question.
"Who bought the ticket?"
The transaction showed Daniel's account.
But the confirmation email had been sent to another address.
A private email.
Mara searched the address.
Her face changed.
"What?"
She looked at me.
"This belongs to your former doctor."
My stomach dropped.
The same doctor who had signed the guardianship document.
The same doctor Daniel had been speaking to.
The same doctor who had written that I was exhausted and emotionally unstable after childbirth.
I whispered:
"She was helping him."
Mara nodded.
"Looks like it."
Then Claire spoke.
"There's something else."
She reached into her coat.
She pulled out a small envelope.
"I found this in Daniel's desk."
Inside was a handwritten note.
I recognized the handwriting.
Mine.
But I had never written it.
It said:
I know I'm not capable of raising my daughter. Daniel is the stable parent. I voluntarily agree to temporary placement.
My hands shook.
"He forged this."
Mara took the note.
"We can prove it."
"How?"
"Your handwriting."
Claire shook her head.
"No."
She pointed to the bottom.
"The signature."
I looked.
It was my signature.
Perfect.
Too perfect.
Mara stared at it.
"Someone traced it."
"How do you know?"
"Because the pressure pattern is wrong."
She looked at me.
"Someone copied your signature from another document."
I thought about the hospital forms.
The forms Daniel had brought me.
The forms I had signed while exhausted.
Suddenly, I understood.
He didn't need me to sign anything new.
He had an old signature.
All he needed was someone willing to reproduce it.
The police took the note.
Daniel remained downstairs.
Then we heard him shouting.
"I want my attorney!"
An officer answered:
"Your attorney is on her way."
Daniel laughed.
"Good."
Mara looked uneasy.
"Why?"
"Because he knows exactly what she's going to say."
I looked at her.
"What?"
Mara lowered her voice.
"That the documents are legitimate."
My stomach twisted.
"She'll lie?"
"She's already involved."
Claire whispered:
"Then we need something she can't explain."
I looked at the monitors.
The recordings.
The basement.
The computer.
The evidence.
Then I remembered the second phone.
Claire's phone.
There had been something on it.
Something she hadn't shown us.
I turned to her.
"What else is on your phone?"
She hesitated.
"One recording."
"Play it."
Claire pressed a button.
Daniel's voice filled the room.
At first, it was quiet.
Then he said:
"Once she signs, the baby is ours."
My entire body went cold.
But then another voice answered.
A woman's voice.
The doctor.
"And if she refuses?"
Daniel replied:
"Then we'll make her look like she can't be trusted."
The room fell silent.
I stared at Claire.
"Where did you get that?"
She swallowed.
"I recorded it three weeks ago."
I looked toward the door.
Daniel was still shouting downstairs.
For the first time, I wasn't afraid of him.
I was angry.
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And I finally knew exactly what I needed to do.
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