Before she could explain, her phone vibrated.
She glanced at the screen.
Her face drained of color.
“What is it?”
Miriam asked.
Vanessa turned the phone around.
A message from an unknown number contained a photograph of her standing outside the law office.
Below it were five words.
Stop helping her.
Last warning.
Miriam immediately closed the blinds.
“Don’t respond,” she said.
“Save the message.”
Vanessa’s hands were trembling.
I reached across the table.
“Are you safe?”
She looked startled by the question.
Then, very quietly, she said, “I don’t know.”
That afternoon, Miriam helped arrange for Vanessa to speak with a financial-crimes investigator.
I gave permission for my attorney to review all the documents I’d brought.
We also requested records from the banks and began the process of challenging the signatures I disputed.
The work was slower than I wanted.
Every discovery raised three more questions.
