He Wanted a Fake Divorce for the Payout, I Gave Him a Real One for the Payback Chapter 05

He Wanted a Fake Divorce for the Payout, I Gave Him a Real One for the Payback Chapter 05

I did not chase them.

There was no point, and no need.

The property deed was in my pocket. The agreement was in my pocket too. If they ran, all the better.

I washed my face slowly and put on makeup. In the mirror, the woman looking back at me had color in her cheeks and a sharpness in her eyes.

Then I took out my phone and called the city inspectors Office.

“Hello, is this the city inspectors? I’m the current owner of Unit 401, Building C, Maple Glen Apartments. I wanted to ask when the relocation payout will be issued.”

A middle-aged man answered on the other end. “Are you Nathan?”

“I’m his sister, Clara. My brother passed away, and the apartment was just transferred to me.”

“Oh, I see. You should come by. There are a few details we need to verify.”

“Okay.”

After I hung up, I left.

The city inspectors Office was housed in a drab, bureaucratic building downtown. The hallway was stacked with files, and the air smelled of dust and printer ink.

The man who received me wore glasses. His name was Mr. Warren Clarke.

“Ms. Whitaker, we’ve already reviewed the file for this property.”

Mr. Clarke flipped through the folder. “But there’s one issue. A redevelopment buyout agreement was already executed for this property six months ago.”

“What?” I froze. “Who signed it?”

“The property owner himself. Nathan.”

Mr. Clarke pulled out a document and pushed it toward me. “See? Signature and thumbprint.”

I picked up the document. The name “Nathan” was written crookedly, nothing like my brother’s handwriting. Beside it was a red thumbprint.

“That’s impossible.” I shook my head. “My brother had already been dead for six months.”

“Dead?” Mr. Clarke looked up and took off his glasses to wipe them.

“That can’t be right. When the agreement was signed six months ago, I saw him in person. Tall guy, rough voice. There was also a woman named Lorna with him. She said she was his wife.”

My head buzzed.

Six months ago, Nathan had already been dead for four months.

Then who had signed that paper?

“Did that Nathan have a slight hunch in his back and a scar over his left eyebrow?” I asked.

“Yes. Exactly. How did you know?” Mr. Clarke looked at me.

That was Darren.

Darren had a scar over his left eyebrow from a fall when he was a kid, and he had always carried that distinct, slouching hunch.

Darren had stolen my dead brother’s identity to sign away the redevelopment agreement?

“Is this agreement… valid?” I asked.

“On paper, yes. All the supporting documents checked out, and the funds have already been wire-transferred.” Mr. Clarke said.

“Transferred to which account?”

“The account provided on the application. The account holder was Lorna Whitaker.”

An icy dread spread through my veins.

“You didn’t verify the ID?”

“We did. He had Nathan’s ID.”

My hand curled into a fist inside my pocket. Nathan’s ID had always been with Darren.

So this was their real plan all along.

It was not about a sham divorce.

It was not about getting me to sign.

They had already impersonated a dead man and taken the money.

The property deed in my pocket?

That handwritten agreement?

All worthless.

“How much was the payout?” I asked.

“Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

Four hundred and fifty thousand.

I had been played.

But I let nothing show. Mr. Clarke watched me, his eyes careful and assessing.

“Mr. Clarke,” I asked quietly, “if it’s proven the owner was dead, can the agreement be voided?”

“If you can prove it was fraudulent, then yes. But you’ll need to go to the police.”

“The police…” I smiled faintly. “No. I’ll handle this myself.”