The Signature
Chapter 02 - The Signature
The room went silent.
Emma wiped her cheek and looked at the receipt in her father’s trembling hand.
“What does it say?”
Robert folded it quickly.
“Nothing.”
“Then show me.”
He refused.
That frightened Emma more than his shouting had.
A moment earlier, he had been certain she was a thief. Now he could barely look at her.
The front door opened.
Ethan stepped inside.
At twenty-three, he had inherited their mother’s quiet eyes and their father’s stubbornness. He stopped when he saw Emma crying.
“What happened?”
Robert snapped, “Stay out of this.”
Ethan’s gaze moved to the receipt.
His expression hardened.
“You found it.”
Emma looked from one man to the other.
“You knew?”
Ethan took a slow breath.
“Emma, the necklace wasn’t stolen.”
Robert stepped toward him.
“Enough.”
“No,” Ethan said. “You’ve blamed her for enough.”
Emma felt the floor shift beneath her.
“What are you talking about?”
Ethan pointed at their father.
“Ask him why Mom’s necklace was pawned three months before she died.”
Robert’s face drained of color.
Emma stared at him.
Three months before Margaret died, she had been undergoing treatment. The family had been told that insurance covered most of it.
At least, that was what Robert had said.
Emma whispered, “Dad?”
May you like
Robert looked down at the receipt.
And for the first time in Emma’s life, her father looked afraid of the truth.
