Chapter 13 - Samuel Arrives
At exactly eight o'clock the following morning, a black SUV stopped quietly outside the property.
Samuel Brooks stepped out carrying two leather briefcases and a portable document scanner.
His expression changed the moment he saw Lily.
Daniel needed no explanation.
Samuel had known Lily as a cheerful little girl before Daniel left.
The young woman standing before him looked like someone who had survived years of fear.
Samuel greeted Rebecca politely.
She returned an equally polite smile.
Neither trusted the other.
Inside the study, Daniel handed Samuel every document they had discovered.
The attorney worked silently for nearly an hour.
He scanned signatures.
Compared transfer records.
Verified notarizations.
Finally he leaned back.
"I can already confirm three felonies."
Rebecca's forged signatures.
Fraudulent financial control.
False legal declarations.
"And that's only from what we've seen."
Samuel paused.
"There is something even stranger."
He slid one document across the desk.
"The notary listed here died four years before this paper was supposedly signed."
Daniel stared at the date.
Impossible.
The certification itself was fraudulent.
Samuel opened another folder.
"I also contacted the bank before driving here."
"They confirmed someone has been accessing Lily's trust every quarter."
Daniel asked quietly,
"Who?"
Samuel looked toward the closed office door.
"They refused to tell me over the phone."
"They said the authorized representative insisted on being present during any disclosure."
Daniel already knew who that representative would be.
But before he could answer...
Rebecca knocked gently.
Coffee in one hand.
A warm smile on her face.
"I hope I'm not interrupting."
Samuel smiled back.
"Not at all."
Yet the moment Rebecca left the room, Samuel whispered,
May you like
"She was listening outside the door."
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