Chapter 14 - The Option
Rachel did not let Natalie call Ethan.
“Not yet.”
The forged signature appeared on a purchase-option agreement dated April 6.
Hawthorne Ridge Development Fund paid $100,000 for a ninety-day exclusive option to negotiate final acquisition of Cedar House.
The document identified Natalie as owner.
Her signature appeared before a notary block.
The notary was Cynthia Ward.
Natalie had never heard of her.
Rachel studied the image.
“Do you have the full document?”
“No.”
“Ask the sender.”
Natalie replied for the first time.
Who are you? Send the full file.
No answer.
Daniel Cho leaned closer.
“An option does not transfer the land, but if Hawthorne paid consideration believing this was valid, somebody has a serious problem.”
Natalie stared at the signature.
It resembled hers.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
“Could Ethan have copied it?”
“Possibly,” Rachel said. “But do not assume.”
“Who else benefits?”
“Vanessa. Hawthorne. Anyone receiving part of the option payment.”
Daniel asked, “Did you receive one hundred thousand dollars?”
“No.”
“Then we find out who did.”
The full PDF arrived ten minutes later.
No identity from the sender.
Rachel saved multiple copies.
The wire instructions appeared on page fourteen.
Recipient:
Northline Advisory LLC.
Natalie laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
The sound frightened her.
“Hawthorne paid Ethan’s company one hundred thousand dollars for an option on my property using my forged signature.”
Rachel remained calm.
“Apparently.”
“Apparently?”
“We confirm before accusing.”
Natalie paced.
“Can I call the notary?”
Rachel considered.
“I would rather have an investigator do that.”
“How long?”
“We can start today.”
Natalie signed the divorce petition.
The moment felt smaller than she expected.
A blue pen.
One signature.
No thunder.
No collapse.
Just paper.
Rachel looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
Natalie thought of the forged version of her name.
“Yes.”
She signed the remaining pages.
When she reached home that evening, Ethan was waiting in his car across the street.
He got out as she parked.
“We need to talk.”
Natalie kept walking.
“I filed.”
He stopped.
“What?”
“For divorce.”
His face emptied.
“You filed?”
“Yes.”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
“Natalie.”
She unlocked the front door.
Ethan followed her onto the porch.
“You didn’t even give us a week.”
“You gave us eleven months of secret meetings.”
“That isn’t the same.”
“No. It’s worse.”
He lowered his voice.
“Please don’t do this.”
She looked at him.
“Did you sign my name to an option agreement?”
Every trace of emotion vanished from his face.
That frightened her.
“What?”
“April sixth. Hawthorne Ridge. One hundred thousand dollars to Northline.”
Ethan stared.
“I did not sign your name.”
“Did you know the agreement existed?”
Silence.
“Ethan.”
“Yes.”
Natalie’s hand tightened around her keys.
“Who signed it?”
“I thought you had.”
She stared in disbelief.
“You thought I signed an agreement I never saw?”
“Vanessa told me the executed copy came back.”
“From whom?”
“Hawthorne’s counsel.”
“She was Hawthorne’s counsel.”
“Not directly. She consulted with the transaction team.”
“Did you receive the hundred thousand?”
“Northline did.”
“And you never wondered how an option on my property became valid without speaking to me?”
Ethan looked sick.
“I was told you had signed through an estate-planning package.”
Natalie went still.
“What estate-planning package?”
His expression changed.
There.
Another door.
“Ruth arranged documents.”
“When?”
“March.”
Natalie remembered.
Ruth had invited her to lunch in March and brought up updating family trusts.
She said Charles’s estate attorney recommended everyone modernize documents.
A week later an envelope arrived.
Natalie reviewed it briefly.
Healthcare proxy.
Durable power of attorney draft.
Beneficiary updates.
She never signed anything.
She told Ruth she wanted her own lawyer to review it.
“Your mother sent me estate documents.”
“Yes.”
“I never signed them.”
Ethan looked genuinely shocked.
“I thought you did.”
“Why?”
“Ruth said everything was handled.”
Natalie stared.
The phrase Sophie heard Vanessa use.
You told Ruth this was handled.
Suddenly the geometry changed.
“Call her.”
“Natalie—”
“Call Ruth.”
Ethan hesitated.
She unlocked the door.
“If you leave without calling her, I will assume you know exactly what happened.”
He pulled out his phone.
Ruth answered on the third ring.
“Ethan?”
He put her on speaker.
“Mom, did Natalie sign the Hawthorne option through the estate package?”
Silence.
Too long.
“Why are you asking?”
Natalie felt cold.
Ethan’s voice sharpened.
“Did she?”
Ruth exhaled.
“There were several documents.”
“That is not an answer.”
“I believed Natalie intended to cooperate.”
Natalie gripped the doorframe.
“Ruth.”
Silence.
Then:
“Natalie is there?”
Ethan stared at the phone.
“Mom. Who signed the option?”
Ruth’s voice became faint.
“I can explain.”
Natalie closed her eyes.
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)
Ethan whispered:
“Oh my God.”
