Chapter 6 - The Paper Trail
Callie didn't just walk into this blind. She spent the next thirty-six hours acting as a private investigator, leveraging her modest savings to pay for a forensic document specialist she’d found online. The digital trail of the property sale was a mess of contradictions, but the most damning evidence was the notary’s stamp.
She visited the notary public’s office—a cramped room in a strip mall—and found that the notary had retired three years ago. The signature on the sale documents was a crude forgery of a woman who had been deceased for months at the time of the signing.
“This is it,” Callie told the specialist over the phone, recording the conversation. “The entire transaction is a criminal fraud.”
Meanwhile, the psychological toll was becoming apparent. Joel and Dakota had begun calling, their tone shifting from dismissive arrogance to frantic threats. They realized that Callie was digging, and they were beginning to panic. A mysterious black SUV had been idling outside Callie’s apartment complex for hours, a clear sign that they were watching.
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Callie devised a counter-move. She leaked a fabricated tip to a local journalist—a friend she had known since high school—suggesting that a major, historic property in Fairview was at the center of a potential white-collar crime investigation. She didn't name Joel, but the implication was enough to make the local real estate sharks start sniffing around.
She then hired a temporary security detail, a pair of retired police officers she’d met through a community networking group, to watch over Geneva while she prepared for the final entry into the house. The house wasn't just a building; it was the battlefield where the fate of the family would be decided.
