Chapter 3

Bruno Dickerson handed over a power-of-attorney form.

My name was signed on it, plain as day. The sight of it snapped my brows together.

"I never agreed to this. The signature is forged!"

My tone was flat and final. "Handwriting can be verified."

As a lawyer, when it came to signatures, I was always careful.

I would never sign anything carelessly.

And every time I did sign, I left a little mark only I could pick out.

Like the one right here.

I recognized it at a glance. It had been lifted straight off the "mutual aid pledge" I'd signed in the family group chat last time.

"And another thing, Manager Dickerson. Your resort let someone run up five hundred thousand on nothing but a proxy signature, without ever confirming it with me. That's a failure to verify on your end too."

Bruno's expression shifted.

"Ms. Butler, this..."

"I've already got the police report on file." I gave my phone a little shake. "The officers will pull the security footage and confirm exactly who signed."

"Forging a signature is a criminal offense. An amount this large is more than enough to put someone away."

Sophie Finch went white in an instant.

She turned to look at the man behind her.

Because the third uncle at her side, Noah Fox, was the very one who'd pushed me into signing that "mutual aid pledge."

Right now he was shrinking behind the crowd, forehead slick with sweat.

"One more thing. I've already paid the deposit at the Lakeview Hotel."

I turned to face all of them.

"My daughter Cicely got into a top university. All I wanted was a quiet dinner, just the family, to celebrate."

"Since you all insisted on turning it into this, fine. Then we do it by the law."

I pulled a bank card out of my bag.

I held it up for everyone to see.

"There's three hundred thousand on this card. It's the payment my company owes a supplier next month."

"But I won't be spending a single cent of it today."

"This five hundred thousand? Whoever ordered it pays for it."

"Anyone who can't pay, the police already have all your ID information, and the resort can sue you for contract fraud."

"Dorothy Butler, you wouldn't dare!"

Sophie shrieked.

"We're family! You'd actually send us in?"

"Family?"

I smiled, and it was cold. "The moment you locked my daughter up here, you stopped being my family."

"You're criminal suspects. Extortion."

Just then the police came over, the lead officer's face grave.

"Which of you is Ms. Dorothy Butler?"

"We got a report that someone here is unlawfully detaining a minor, and there's a dispute over a large charge as well."

"That's me."

I stepped forward.

I handed over the bill and the power-of-attorney form together.

"Officer, these people held my daughter here and wouldn't let her leave. This is the itemized bill, and I suspect someone forged my signature."

The officer took the documents and swept his eyes over the room.

The gaggle of aunts who'd been so high and mighty a moment ago.

Every one of them now sat like a chicken with its neck wrung, not a sound out of them.

"My assisting officer has already pulled the footage," the officer said. "We did see this young lady try to leave, and several women stopped her."

"Who stopped her, it's all right there on the recording."

Sophie's legs gave out and she collapsed straight into a chair.

Iris Lambert started wailing and swiping at her tears. "Dorothy, you can't do this! We meant well! Your third aunt's getting on in years, she'll never survive in there..."

"You meant well?"

I looked at her coldly. "Aunt Sophie, when you were calling me a cheap, penny-pinching wretch a minute ago, that wasn't meaning well."

"When you scared my daughter until she was crying, that wasn't meaning well either."

Cicely clutched a fistful of my clothes.

"Mom, let it go... they're all family..."

I looked down at my daughter's red-rimmed eyes, and my heart ached.

But I knew.

Let it go this time, and next time they'd only push harder.

"Cicely."

I crouched down to meet her at eye level.

"Let me teach you something. Kindness has to have a limit."

"Today they can hold you at a resort to force me to pay five hundred thousand. Tomorrow they'll use something worse to force our hand."

"Every cent Mom earns comes from staying up all night reworking proposals. I won't let it be trampled like this."

"You got into a top university on your own ability, not on any of this so-called show."

Cicely bit her lip, and finally nodded.

I stood and turned to the officer. "Thank you for handling this. I'm willing to cooperate with the investigation, and I'll do the signature analysis too."

"As for the charges, whoever spent it is responsible for it. I won't own a single cent."

"Dorothy Butler! I'll take you down with me!"