Chapter 5 - The Attorney Her Grandmother Chose
The next morning, Claire called Nora Ellis.
Nora had handled Margaret Bennett’s estate.
She had known Claire since she was sixteen.
When Claire described the loan letter, Nora did not tell her to confront Grant.
She told her to leave the house immediately.
“I need to know whether he transferred the property,” Claire said.
“I’ll check the county records.”
“Grant says it belongs to both of us.”
“Grant can say the moon belongs to him. That doesn’t make it legal.”
Nora searched the electronic property database.
A deed had been filed eight months earlier.
It claimed Claire had transferred the lake house to herself and Grant jointly.
Her signature appeared at the bottom.
A notary stamp confirmed she had signed it inside Grant’s office.
Claire had never seen the document.
She had been visiting Evelyn in the hospital on the date listed.
Nora pulled the trust agreement from Margaret’s file.
Even if the signature had been real, the transfer would still violate the provision requiring independent counsel.
“The deed is fraudulent,” Nora said. “But whoever filed it knew enough to make it look convincing.”
Claire felt sick.
“Can we reverse it?”
“Yes. But we need to move carefully. Grant may have already borrowed against it or promised it to a buyer.”
Nora instructed Claire to photograph every financial document she could access.
She also told her to begin recording conversations where state law permitted.
“Do not tell him what we found.”
Claire returned to the lake house that evening.
Grant was cooking dinner as though nothing had happened.
He kissed her cheek.
He poured her favorite wine.
He asked whether she wanted to visit Italy after the resort deal closed.
Claire forced herself to smile.
“What resort deal?”
Grant froze with the bottle in his hand.
Then he laughed.
“I must have been thinking out loud.”
Later that night, Claire heard him speaking in the garage.
“The deed cleared,” he whispered. “She still doesn’t know.”
Claire activated the recorder on her phone.
A woman’s voice answered through the speaker.
May you like
“Then get the divorce signed before closing day.”
👉 Claire had proof Grant was planning something—but the woman on the phone knew far more about her marriage than any business partner should.
