Chapter 4 - The Forgery
Viktor pulled a pristine, clear plastic evidence sleeve from his folder. Inside was a printed copy of a legal contract bearing what looked like my shaky, elderly handwriting at the bottom.
"This," Viktor said, holding the plastic sleeve up for everyone to see, "is the General Durable Power of Attorney that Jessica filed with the county clerk's office at 4:30 PM today, using an expedited electronic portal."
He turned the paper over. "Unfortunately for you, Mrs. Sterling, Arthur Sterling broke his right wrist skiing in Gstaad last month. He has been wearing a medical cast and signing all documents using an authorized biometric digital stamp registered with our firm. The signature on this document is a clumsy freehand trace executed with a standard mouse pad."
Gasps erupted around the table. My brother-in-law, who had been so smug earlier, slowly pushed his chair back from the table, trying to make himself as small as possible.
"Forgery of a legal instrument to seize control of financial assets," Viktor recited calmly, as if reading from a textbook. "In this state, that carries a mandatory prison sentence of five to ten years without the possibility of parole. And because it involves interstate corporate wire fraud, federal agencies were automatically notified the moment your app hit our servers."
Jessica stared at the document in horror, her chest heaving as reality finally crashed down upon her. "No... no, this was supposed to be mine. You promised me, Mark! You said your dad was losing his mind, that he wouldn't even notice!"
Mark looked up, his eyes bloodshot and filled with bitter despair. "I said he was getting old, Jessica! I never said we should commit fraud! You bullied me into it! You threatened to take the kids and leave me if I didn't hand over the keys to the empire!"
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The dining room dissolved into chaos. Jessica’s relatives began shouting, some trying to distance themselves from her entirely, while others started demanding their coats so they could flee before the police arrived.
I cleared my throat. It was a soft, gentle sound, but because of the oppressive silence that followed, it carried through the room like a gunshot. Everyone froze and looked at me.
