I took the small digital camera I used for scanning old receipts out of my pocket, framed the shot so the bank logo and the dollar amount and the signature were all in focus, and pressed the shutter.

Then I closed the folder and set it exactly three inches from the edge of the blotter, where it had been, and left the room.

I want to be careful here about what I did and did not do, because it matters.

I did not take the document.

I did not alter anything.

I photographed what was in front of me and I put it back, and I did it because I already understood, dimly, that whatever this became would one day be looked at by other people, and that the only version of me that could survive that scrutiny was the one who had touched nothing and proven everything.

A forged signature is not a small thing.