“She filed an affidavit of presumed death, but the court record shows no body was ever found.

And her husband never died.”

“Who was he?” I asked.

“A surgical resident named Marcus Thorne,” Chloe said, sliding a yellowed copy of a 1991 marriage certificate across the glass.

“Eleanor used Julian’s electronic desk stamp to forge your consent on that spousal waiver last month, but thirty years ago she used a plain old legal forgery to erase Thorne completely.”

“Does Julian know his father is alive?” I asked.