Chapter 6 - THE SIGNATURE HE THOUGHT HE OWNED
I signed the revocation from my hospital bed.
This time, I read every word.
Helen arranged immediate notice to the institutions that mattered and took steps to block any attempted real-estate transfer while the authenticity and circumstances of the earlier documents were reviewed.
Then she asked how the power of attorney had reached me.
I told her.
The night before surgery, Victor sat beside me while I completed hospital forms.
He had a neat stack of papers.
“These are just so I can handle things if your recovery is slower than mine.”
I remembered laughing.
“My recovery? You’re the sick one.”
“Not after tomorrow.”
He kissed me.
I signed where he pointed.
One page.
Another.
Then another.
I did not have sedatives in me yet.
That mattered legally.
But so did misrepresentation.
I had never been told one document gave him sweeping financial authority.
More importantly, the notarization raised questions.
The notary listed on the form was Rita Sloan.
My stomach turned.
“She can notarize it if she benefits from the transaction?” I asked.
Helen’s expression tightened.
“That is one of several things we’ll be examining.”
Then Michael found something else in the photographs.
A handwritten note in Victor’s folder.
Not enough to prove everything.
Enough to show sequence.
POA → deed → record after discharge.
Beneath that:
Rita to handle title contact.
Victor had a plan.
Not an impulsive idea.
A plan.
I lay back against my pillow.
For the first time, exhaustion hit me harder than anger.
“I gave him a kidney.”
Michael looked at me.
“I know.”
“I volunteered for months of testing.”
“I know.”
“I was afraid I wouldn’t match.”
His eyes filled.
“I know, Sarah.”
I stared at the ceiling.
“Was he planning this before I agreed?”
Helen said nothing.
Neither did Michael.
Because there are questions where silence is kinder than speculation.
My phone vibrated.
Victor.
I looked at the screen until it stopped.
Then another call.
Victor again.
May you like
Then Rita.
I turned the phone facedown.
