Jessica kezei annyira remegtek, hogy alig tudta kibontani a lapokat.

“Emily, a tóparti ház nem az egyetlen, amit használt.”

“Mi mást?”

“Számlákat nyitott. Leveleket küldött. Olyan emberektől fogadott adományokat, akik azt hitték, hogy sebesült katonákon segítenek.”

Emily gyomra összeszorult.

“Mennyibe kerül?”

“Nem tudom az összértéket.”

“Jessica.”

Her sister began crying.

“I tried to stop him.”

Emily caught her shoulders.

“Look at me.”

Jessica reluctantly raised her eyes.

“Did you know he forged my signature?”

A tear rolled down Jessica’s cheek.

“Yes.”

Emily stepped back.

For several seconds, she could not speak.

“You knew?”

Jessica nodded.

“And you let him throw me out in front of everyone?”

“He told me if I interfered, he’d destroy everything.”

“What does that mean?”

Jessica opened her handbag again.

This time she removed a small USB drive.

“Six weeks ago, Ryan arranged an online notarization. He needed someone to appear on camera.”

Emily’s blood went cold.

“No.”

Jessica looked away.

“He already had your identification documents. He had a photograph of your signature. He told me the transaction was temporary.”

“Who appeared on the video?”

Jessica covered her mouth.

Emily felt the answer before she heard it.

Their mother had always said the sisters looked alike.

Same cheekbones.

Same pale eyes.

Same dark hair, although Jessica now colored hers chestnut.

Emily stepped backward.

“Jessica, tell me you didn’t.”

Her sister’s shoulders collapsed.

“He made me wear your old jacket. He styled my hair like yours. The video was blurry, and the notary barely looked at me.”

Emily stared at her.

The significance was almost impossible to absorb.

The forged deed.

The false notarization.

The transfer of ownership.

Her sister’s silence.

Every piece suddenly connected.

“Jessica,” Emily whispered, “you impersonated me?”

Jessica broke into sobs.

Then she said the words Emily would remember for the rest of her life.

“Yes, Emily. I was the woman who signed your name.”