Chapter 12: His Signature

The bloodstained deed rested beneath glass while we waited for a tribunal officer.

I would not let the originals leave the depot without Rita.

The officer checked the deed's seal and its date against the registry.

He checked the oath's countercopy beside it.

Its space for my mother's signature was blank.

Someone had made the signed version after the office retained an empty form.

"The deed predates the claimed pledge," he said. "These will be admitted."

"Will you void the debt?" Rita asked.

"The tribunal has to hear both sides. The stay remains in force until the hearing date on your order."

He sealed both pages into an evidence sleeve in front of us.

I made Rita photograph the seal before he carried them away.

Valerio stayed at the desk after the officer left.

He held the account sheet we had found with the deed.

"My father collected from this account for six years," he said.

"From whom?"

"The Rail pack. When they fell behind, he bought collateral rights."

"Including South Rail."

"Including South Rail. I inherited that claim."

The payment columns were full of families I had fed.

"Your money came from their loss."

"Yes."

"You can stop trying to collect it."

"I can release the Bellandi claim today."

He turned the sheet around and showed me the line he would sign.

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