{"id":28584,"date":"2026-10-02T22:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T22:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=28584"},"modified":"2026-10-02T22:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T22:16:09","slug":"part-14-thomass-private-notes-showed-he-feared-losing-me-more-than-losing-the-company-yet-fear-had-still-made-him-choose-secrecy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=28584","title":{"rendered":"PART 14 \u2013 Thomas\u2019s Private Notes Showed He Feared Losing Me More Than Losing the Company, Yet Fear Had Still Made Him Choose Secrecy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I took Thomas&#39;s yellow legal sheet home with Rebecca&#39;s permission only after Laura photographed and cataloged it.<\/p>\n<p>The original remained in the evidence file.<\/p>\n<p>I carried a copy.<\/p>\n<p>That distinction mattered now.<\/p>\n<p>Originals.<\/p>\n<p>Copies.<\/p>\n<p>Evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Memory.<\/p>\n<p>For most of my marriage, truth had lived in conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas said something.<\/p>\n<p>I remembered it.<\/p>\n<p>I said something.<\/p>\n<p>He remembered differently.<\/p>\n<p>Marriage survived because not every disagreement required proof.<\/p>\n<p>Now proof was everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>Emails.<\/p>\n<p>Video.<\/p>\n<p>Audio.<\/p>\n<p>Bank statements.<\/p>\n<p>Trust clauses.<\/p>\n<p>Forged signatures.<\/p>\n<p>I sat at the kitchen table after dark with Thomas&#39;s note in front of me.<\/p>\n<p>She may leave me.<\/p>\n<p>The handwriting pressed harder on those four words.<\/p>\n<p>I traced the letters without touching the ink.<\/p>\n<p>Would I have left?<\/p>\n<p>I tried to answer honestly.<\/p>\n<p>If Thomas had come to me two years earlier and said Eric stole from the company, forged my signature, and Thomas had placed that false approval into official records to prevent a lender from asking questions\u2014what would I have done?<\/p>\n<p>I would have been furious.<\/p>\n<p>I would have demanded outside counsel.<\/p>\n<p>I would have removed Eric immediately.<\/p>\n<p>I would have fought with Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Loudly.<\/p>\n<p>Possibly for weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Would I have left him?<\/p>\n<p>No.<\/p>\n<p>I knew that with surprising certainty.<\/p>\n<p>I would not have left.<\/p>\n<p>But Thomas had not trusted that.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps because he knew the problem was larger than Eric.<\/p>\n<p>He knew I would ask why he helped conceal it.<\/p>\n<p>He knew the answer would expose something in him he disliked.<\/p>\n<p>Not greed.<\/p>\n<p>Not corruption in the usual sense.<\/p>\n<p>Pride.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas could admit business errors more easily than moral ones.<\/p>\n<p>If a route failed, he changed it.<\/p>\n<p>If a truck broke, he repaired it.<\/p>\n<p>If a customer left, he called another.<\/p>\n<p>But if he failed someone he loved, he became a man who wanted to repair the evidence instead of the cause.<\/p>\n<p>I had seen versions of that.<\/p>\n<p>Small ones.<\/p>\n<p>Never this large.<\/p>\n<p>My phone rang at nine.<\/p>\n<p>Eric.<\/p>\n<p>I let it ring once before answering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPierce says I shouldn&#39;t call you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why are you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause this isn&#39;t about the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat case?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhatever this becomes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The phrase chilled me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you call?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found something at my apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore records?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA letter from Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI forgot I had it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI find that difficult to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He sounded exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did he give it to you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen he found Redleaf?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI haven&#39;t opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told me not to unless I was ready to tell you everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at Thomas&#39;s handwriting on the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you kept it sealed for two years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA desk drawer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you remembered enough not to open it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI tried not to think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat has been expensive for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His voice was quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you going to open it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went silent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I do not trust our family with private versions anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That hurt to say.<\/p>\n<p>But it was true.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the letter concerns company matters, Pierce and Rebecca should know it exists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if it concerns only you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want you there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost refused.<\/p>\n<p>Then I asked, \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Dad told me the condition was telling you everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I breathed slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca&#39;s office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, Rebecca arranged a conference room.<\/p>\n<p>Pierce arrived with Eric.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel Pierce was in his late fifties, lean, silver-haired, and far quieter than I expected from a lawyer Eric had chosen.<\/p>\n<p>He shook my hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMrs. Whitmore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Pierce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand this is difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat may be the safest sentence anyone has said this week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One corner of his mouth moved.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca sat beside me.<\/p>\n<p>Pierce sat beside Eric.<\/p>\n<p>The balance was formal.<\/p>\n<p>I disliked it.<\/p>\n<p>I also understood why it was necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Eric placed a sealed envelope on the table.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas&#39;s handwriting read:<\/p>\n<p>ERIC \u2014 OPEN ONLY WHEN YOU ARE READY TO STOP HIDING.<\/p>\n<p>I had seen enough of my husband&#39;s labels to know the writing was genuine.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca photographed the sealed envelope.<\/p>\n<p>Pierce did the same.<\/p>\n<p>Then Eric opened it.<\/p>\n<p>Inside were five handwritten pages.<\/p>\n<p>He read the first silently.<\/p>\n<p>His face changed immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Pierce said, \u201cTake your time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wrote this the week after Redleaf.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>Then began.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric, what you did was theft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His voice shook.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am writing that word because every softer word I tried felt like another lie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Pierce waited.<\/p>\n<p>He continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have made a decision your mother may never forgive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt my back straighten.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not telling her yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas&#39;s choice.<\/p>\n<p>Documented at the moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am giving you one chance to repair what you did before I bring her into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric&#39;s voice cracked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you repay every dollar, end the false vendor, give me every document, and tell me the full truth, I will decide when Eleanor is told.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>She was reading along from a copied image.<\/p>\n<p>Eric continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not because you deserve protection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is because your mother has carried enough of this family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My throat tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had thought silence reduced my burden.<\/p>\n<p>He never understood that hidden burdens still alter the weight of a marriage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am afraid this will break her faith in you,\u201d Eric read.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore selfishly, I am afraid it will break her faith in me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was again.<\/p>\n<p>Not speculation.<\/p>\n<p>Confession.<\/p>\n<p>Eric&#39;s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>He continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI should not be helping you hide this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen don&#39;t,\u201d I whispered before I could stop myself.<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked up.<\/p>\n<p>I shook my head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeep going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He read.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I do this, you must understand what it costs me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Costs him.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas still wrote as though the main cost belonged to the person concealing the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Then the next line surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd what it may cost your mother without her consent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He had known.<\/p>\n<p>Even then.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am risking her name because you used her signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric stopped again.<\/p>\n<p>The room was silent.<\/p>\n<p>Pierce leaned toward him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cContinue if you can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am risking the company because I am afraid an investigation will destroy your future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His voice dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am risking my marriage because I cannot bear to tell Eleanor that our son did this under our roof, in our company, while we were both congratulating ourselves for raising him well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My eyes burned.<\/p>\n<p>No anger could erase how well I knew the man behind those words.<\/p>\n<p>His shame.<\/p>\n<p>His love.<\/p>\n<p>His arrogance.<\/p>\n<p>His terror.<\/p>\n<p>All woven together.<\/p>\n<p>Eric continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo here is what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He read the conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Repayment schedule.<\/p>\n<p>No access to finance systems.<\/p>\n<p>No vendor authority.<\/p>\n<p>Personal financial counseling.<\/p>\n<p>Monthly disclosure to Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Immediate termination if any additional dishonesty occurred.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd when you are stable,\u201d Eric read, \u201cyou tell your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stopped.<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou agreed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why didn&#39;t you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI kept waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas kept waiting too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pierce said quietly, \u201cHow long did repayment take?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlmost two years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you still did not disclose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause by then Dad was sick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about the first year?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the second?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought if everything was repaid, maybe it didn&#39;t matter anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>There was the same logic again.<\/p>\n<p>Repair the number.<\/p>\n<p>Erase the act.<\/p>\n<p>Except some things did not become untrue when balances reached zero.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about the remaining thirty-six thousand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pierce glanced at him.<\/p>\n<p>Eric answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was separate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeparate how?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI borrowed from Dad again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter all this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he agree?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it documented?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca said, \u201cWe have the note.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are discovering how much we do not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric continued reading.<\/p>\n<p>The final page changed tone.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas wrote:<\/p>\n<p>If you fail this agreement, I will tell Eleanor immediately.<\/p>\n<p>You will lose any operational future at the company until she decides otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>If I fail this agreement by hiding longer than I should, that failure is mine.<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had written the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Then failed to follow it.<\/p>\n<p>Eric read the final paragraph.<\/p>\n<p>If you ever use my protection as proof that what you did was acceptable, understand this clearly: I am not protecting your innocence. I am protecting the possibility that you can still become honest.<\/p>\n<p>The letter ended with:<\/p>\n<p>Do not make me wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Eric put it down.<\/p>\n<p>No one spoke for several seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Then Pierce asked, \u201cDid you sign anything acknowledging these terms?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne page.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you have it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca said, \u201cWe will look.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I asked, \u201cDid you follow the financial counseling condition?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor six months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told Dad I was fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWere you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about monthly disclosure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout a year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI stopped giving him everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Pierce.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour client has been very consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pierce did not defend him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric winced.<\/p>\n<p>I stood and walked toward the window.<\/p>\n<p>Below us, cars moved through the street.<\/p>\n<p>People carrying lunches.<\/p>\n<p>Couriers.<\/p>\n<p>A woman pushing a stroller.<\/p>\n<p>Normal life.<\/p>\n<p>Behind me, Rebecca said, \u201cThere is another issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>There was always another issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas&#39;s letter shows his initial concealment was tied to a specific remediation agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes that excuse the lender issue?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes it reduce it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cContext matters. Legally and morally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not interested in making Thomas look better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeither am I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pierce spoke for the first time in several minutes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt may matter that Thomas intended temporary concealment while recovering funds, rather than permanent falsification.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then he left the false document in the file for two years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo temporary became convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo argument.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I appreciated that.<\/p>\n<p>Eric picked up the final page again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn&#39;t know Dad kept all this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou didn&#39;t need his copies to know what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop saying that unless the next thing you do proves it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting ended without resolution.<\/p>\n<p>There could not be one yet.<\/p>\n<p>As Pierce gathered his papers, Eric remained seated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to repay the twenty-five thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have some retirement money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not cash out your retirement without advice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He blinked.<\/p>\n<p>I had surprised him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou&#39;re telling me not to pay you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am telling you not to create another emergency to solve the last one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pierce nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe is right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked embarrassed.<\/p>\n<p>Good.<\/p>\n<p>Let someone else teach him caution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSet up a repayment plan through the estate,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca added, \u201cWe can structure that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the thirty-six thousand?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#39;ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not do it to impress me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I gave him a look.<\/p>\n<p>He almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight. Don&#39;t say I know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After they left, Rebecca closed the conference-room door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She held up one page from the copied letter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas referenced an acknowledgment Eric signed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Already.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the scanned personal files Thomas gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She opened her tablet.<\/p>\n<p>A signed document appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Eric&#39;s signature.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas&#39;s.<\/p>\n<p>The terms matched the letter.<\/p>\n<p>Then I saw a third signature line.<\/p>\n<p>Witness.<\/p>\n<p>My name was typed beneath it.<\/p>\n<p>The signature above my name looked like mine.<\/p>\n<p>But it was not.<\/p>\n<p>My body went cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother forgery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca zoomed in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEric?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#39;t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>The signature was similar to the Redleaf copy.<\/p>\n<p>But not identical.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Eric forge my name on a private agreement he was trying to keep from me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca&#39;s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the date.<\/p>\n<p>Two years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>The agreement supposedly documented Thomas and Eric&#39;s secret arrangement.<\/p>\n<p>A witness signature was unnecessary for the family understanding they described.<\/p>\n<p>Unless someone wanted the paper to look stronger later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho had this original?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot Eric?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to the scan history, Thomas scanned it himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Thomas forge my name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>I already knew why.<\/p>\n<p>Because if Eric had not signed it, then Thomas may have done exactly what he accused our son of doing.<\/p>\n<p>Used my identity to stabilize a story.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the false signature.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had feared losing me.<\/p>\n<p>He had written that fear repeatedly.<\/p>\n<p>And somewhere inside that fear, he may have crossed another line.<\/p>\n<p>Not to enrich himself.<\/p>\n<p>Not to steal.<\/p>\n<p>To make the lie look orderly.<\/p>\n<p>I whispered, \u201cFind the original.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd handwriting analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd ask Eric before Pierce leaves the building.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca called him.<\/p>\n<p>Pierce and Eric returned ten minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>We showed them the document.<\/p>\n<p>Eric stared at the witness line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn&#39;t Mom&#39;s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca asked, \u201cDid you sign it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you see it when you signed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric looked closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas the witness line blank?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are certain?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pierce said, \u201cMy client will not speculate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I appreciated the restraint.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca asked one final question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho took the agreement after you signed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric&#39;s answer came quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=28585\">Click here to continue reading: PART 15: A Second Forged Signature Raised a Question More Painful Than Eric\u2019s Theft: Whether Thomas Had Used My Name to Protect His Own Decision<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I took Thomas&#39;s yellow legal sheet home with Rebecca&#39;s permission only after Laura photographed and cataloged it. The original remained in the evidence file. I carried a copy. That distinction &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28584"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28619,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28584\/revisions\/28619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}