I looked at Bridgette, listening on speaker.

“Astrid,” I said, as gently as I could, “there are nearly three years of major financial transfers bearing your authorization signature.” The line went dead for several seconds.

Then a shaky breath.

“I never signed those papers.

I never authorized anyone to use my name.” “You need independent legal counsel immediately,” Bridgette said, “to protect your medical license and your personal liability.” And before we hung up, Astrid remembered something — a strange detail from the weeks before her father’s death.

“Right before Dad went in for his open-heart surgery,” she said slowly, “he spent days making duplicate physical copies of foundation files and locking them away.