By late afternoon, the sun began to cast long shadows across the estate.
Inside the master study, Mark sat behind the heavy oak desk.
He opened the dark green file cabinet containing his late father's legal documents.
Evelyn walked into the dimly lit room holding two hot cups of tea.
She placed one cup on the desk near his scattered papers.
Evelyn: How is Tommy doing upstairs in his room?
Mark: He is sleeping now, but he was still trembling earlier.
Evelyn sat down in the leather chair across from the large desk.
She looked at the old legal folders resting under Mark's hands.
Evelyn: What are you looking for in your father's files?
Mark: Eleanor keeps mentioning the family trust fund and the deed.
Mark: Something about her sudden confidence never made sense to me.
Mark pulled out a thick document tied with a faded red ribbon.
It was the official last will and testament of his late father, Arthur Vance.
He flipped through the yellowed pages, reading the fine print carefully.
His father had passed away two years ago after a sudden illness.
Since then, Eleanor had taken control of the daily bank accounts.
As Mark turned to the final page, his eyes caught a strange detail.
The signature of Arthur Vance looked slightly different from his usual hand.
Mark pulled out an old handwritten letter from his father for comparison.
He aligned the two signatures side by side under the desk lamp light.
Mark: Look closely at the letter 'A' in my father's signature.
Evelyn leaned forward, peering at the black ink on the paper.
Evelyn: The loop on the left is completely straight on the will.
Evelyn: But your father always made a round loop on his letters.
Mark reached for his phone and quickly dialed a familiar number.
He called his long-time friend, David, who worked as a document examiner.
Mark: David, I need you to examine a legal signature immediately.
David: Send me a high-resolution photo right away, Mark.
Mark snapped clear photos of the signature using his phone camera.
He emailed the files directly to David's private office server.
While waiting for the reply, Mark continued searching through the desk drawers.
In a locked bottom drawer, he found a hidden leather journal.
It belonged to his late father, containing entries from his final months.
Mark turned to the last entry written just weeks before Arthur passed away.
He read the small handwriting aloud to Evelyn in a quiet voice.
Mark: 'I suspect Eleanor is altering my private medical doses daily.'
Mark: 'She wants full control over the estate before I can finish the trust.'
Evelyn covered her mouth with her hand, gasping in deep horror.
Evelyn: My goodness, Mark, she was trying to hurt him too.
Mark: She did not just push Tommy today out of sudden anger.
Mark: She is trying to eliminate anyone who stands in her way.
The desk phone suddenly rang, cutting through the heavy silence of the room.
Mark picked up the receiver and pressed it firmly against his ear.
Mark: David, what did you find out from the photos?
David: That signature on the will is an absolute forgery, Mark.
David: It was traced over an older document with minor changes.
Mark gripped the receiver tighter, feeling a surge of pure determination.
Mark: Thank you, David, prepare an official legal report for court.
He hung up the phone and looked up at Evelyn with grim resolve.
Mark: She never owned this estate in the first place.
Evelyn: What is our next move against her now?
Mark: We call the police and the estate lawyer right away.