He pulled a yellowed sheet of paper from his leather folder.

“He took out a massive loan using Waverly Lane as collateral,” Daniel said.

“But he didn’t have the legal authority to do that,” Rose added.

“The property was supposed to be held in a strict trust for all the heirs, including me,” Rose said.

“Arthur forged the signatures of the trustees to get the money,” Daniel said.

I felt a cold chill run down my spine as I looked at the old paper.

“And Aunt Claire knew about this?” I asked.

“She knew everything,” Daniel said.

“She discovered the forgery when she took over the estate administration ten years ago,” Daniel said.

“If the truth came out, the trust would dissolve, and the bank would seize Waverly Lane,” Daniel explained.

“But more than that, it would ruin the family name and strip Claire of her fortune,” Daniel said.

“So she decided to bury it,” I said.

“Exactly,” Daniel said.

“She needed a way to transfer the title to a clean entity without triggering an audit,” Daniel said.