Chapter 11 - The Notary SealEvelyn Price was sixty-two and had known Marcus since he was a teenager.
She had been a legal assistant before retiring and maintained a notary commission for occasional work.
Marcus did not accuse her.
Lena contacted Evelyn first.
Evelyn agreed to meet at Lena's office.
When Marcus and Rachel entered the conference room, Evelyn looked frightened.
She hugged neither of them.
That alone felt unnatural.
Lena placed a copy of the member authorization on the table.
“Ms. Price, is this your notarial seal?”
Evelyn adjusted her glasses.
Her face changed.
“That looks like it.”
“Did you notarize Marcus's signature?”
“No.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“Evelyn.”
“I didn't.”
“Then why is your seal on it?”
“I don't know.”
Lena asked, “Do you maintain records?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn opened a binder she had brought.
“I checked after you called. I have no entry for this.”
Rachel asked, “Could somebody duplicate your seal?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I think Adrian copied it.”
Marcus went still.
“You think?”
Evelyn looked ashamed.
“Last year he asked for copies of old Hawthorne documents. He said the insurance company needed them. I emailed him scans.”
“With your seal visible?”
“Yes.”
Marcus looked at Lena.
Lena remained calm.
“Did you authorize him to reuse the seal?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Did you ever perform work for Northline Property Services?”
Evelyn frowned.
“No.”
Rachel showed her the address associated with Northline's registration.
Evelyn stared.
“That was my condo.”
Marcus's voice hardened.
“Was?”
“I sold it two years ago.”
“To who?”
“A cash buyer through an LLC.”
Lena asked the LLC name.
Evelyn thought.
“I'd have to check.”
Marcus stared at the fake authorization.
The layers were multiplying.
Evelyn's former address.
Evelyn's seal.
Northline.
Adrian.
Lena turned to Marcus.
“This may be enough to involve law enforcement eventually, but first we preserve documentation and allow the bank to complete its process.”
Marcus nodded reluctantly.
After the meeting Evelyn caught him by the elevator.
“Marcus.”
He turned.
“I should've called you.”
“When?”
“Months ago.”
His stomach tightened.
“About what?”
“Adrian asked me something strange.”
Rachel stepped closer.
“What?”
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“He asked what happens if one member of an LLC is incapacitated.”
Marcus stared.
“He asked whether the other member could sign alone.”
“When?”
“February.”
It was now October.
Marcus felt cold.
“What did you tell him?”
“That it depended on the operating agreement and authority documents.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Evelyn's eyes filled with regret.
“Because he laughed and said you were considering surgery and he was just preparing.”
Marcus had undergone no surgery.
Rachel asked, “Did he say anything else?”
“He asked whether a scanned notarized signature could be accepted remotely.”
Lena, standing nearby, heard that.
Her expression sharpened.
Back at home, Marcus went into his study and pulled the original Hawthorne operating agreement from the fireproof cabinet.
The agreement required both brothers' signatures to borrow against the property.
That explained the forgery.
Rachel sat beside him.
“Adrian knew he couldn't do it alone.”
“He tried anyway.”
“And the low buyout offer?”
“To get me to release claims before I knew how deep it went.”
Marcus stared at the signatures.
Then something bothered him.
“How did he get this agreement?”
“What?”
“This original stayed here.”
“Maybe Evelyn gave him a copy.”
“No. The refinance application references the amendment from 2021.”
Rachel frowned.
“So?”
“That amendment was never sent to Evelyn.”
Marcus stood.
“Only four copies exist.”
“One here.”
“One with Lena's predecessor.”
“One with the accountant.”
“And Adrian?”
Marcus shook his head.
“His copy didn't include the signed amendment. We executed it after he left the meeting.”
Rachel stared.
“Then how did he know its language?”
They went upstairs.
Marcus opened the fireproof cabinet again.
He checked every folder.
The original 2021 amendment was gone.
In its place was a photocopy.
Rachel whispered, “Someone has been in this cabinet.”
Marcus immediately looked toward Jordan's room.
Then stopped himself.
Rachel saw.
“Don't.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“You thought it.”
Marcus closed the cabinet.
Jordan appeared in the doorway.
“What happened?”
Marcus looked at him.
“When Adrian had you running errands, did you ever bring him anything from this house?”
Jordan's expression changed.
Marcus's heart sank.
Jordan whispered:
“He asked me to photograph a document once.”
Rachel went pale.
“What document?”
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
Jordan looked at the open cabinet.
“That one.”
Related Stories
