“This is a certified copy of an option contract Robert Carter signed three months ago with Apex Development Corporation to sell Cedar Lane for three hundred forty thousand dollars.”

My mother stopped twirling her pearls.

Her hand dropped limply onto her coat pocket.

My father’s face went completely pale under the recessed ceiling lights.

“Where did you get that document?” my father asked, his voice losing its hearty tone and turning sharp.

“It has your signature on it, Mr.

Carter,” Daniel said, turning toward the witness box.

“And it claims to grant commercial access to a land developer while you were filing sworn affidavits in this court saying my client had abandoned the farm.”