I began to read the terms.

My eyes scanned the numbers, my brain struggling to process the figures.

The loan amount was staggering.

It was for two hundred thousand dollars.

And the collateral listed was my grandmother’s house.

I flipped to the signature page at the back of the document.

My signature was there.

It was written in black ink, slanted slightly to the right, exactly the way I always signed my name.

But I had never seen this document in my life.

I held the paper up to the desk lamp.

The signature looked almost identical to mine, but the loop on the ‘C’ was slightly wider than usual.

My hands began to shake violently.

Just then, a floorboard creaked in the hallway outside the office.

The door began to swing open.

I looked up, my throat dry, as a shadow fell across the desk.

Rylan stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on the papers in my hand.

Rylan stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on the papers in my hand.

“What are you doing in here, Calla?” he asked.