The line went silent, leaving only the hum of my computer tower in the quiet room.

I stared at the screen, my mind racing.

They had planned this for months.

The sudden visit from Hannah, the insistence on dropping the kids off, the fake emergency.

It was all a smoke screen to keep me busy and distracted.

If I was dealing with four unruly children, I would not be checking my bank accounts.

I would be too exhausted to notice the alerts.

I stood up and walked to my filing cabinet in the corner of the room.

I unlocked the bottom drawer with a small key on my keychain.

Inside were my physical financial folders.

I pulled out the folder labeled ‘Banking.’

I searched through the papers, looking for any physical copies of my old signature cards.

Nothing was missing from my files here.

Linda must have kept copies of my signature from twenty years ago when I signed my first apartment lease.

She had saved them, waiting for a moment when she could use them against me.

I sat back at my desk and pulled up my email.