But it was the signature page at the back of the document that made my breath catch in my throat.

There were two signature lines under the borrower section.

One belonged to Ryan.

The other line was marked *Co-Signer and Joint Debtor.*

Written there, in bold blue ink, was Ethan’s signature.

He hadn’t just been trying to help his brother pay off some bad debts.

Ethan was legally bound to the entire sum.

If Ryan didn’t pay, the offshore creditors had the legal right to go after Ethan for every single penny.

I stared at his signature, tracing the familiar curve of the ‘E’ with my thumb.

He had signed this three months ago, right around the time my mother’s health began to fail.

Right around the time he started asking questions about her estate.

A sudden noise from the driveway cut through the silence.

The low rumble of a garage door opening vibrated through the floorboards.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

I quickly stuffed the papers back into the manila envelope and pushed the filing cabinet drawer shut.