Chapter 5 - THE FILING IN NEBRASKA
Rebecca did not call Kyle.
She called Nebraska.
The Buffalo County recorder’s office confirmed a document had been submitted electronically against Dad’s farm.
Not completed.
Submitted.
A deed of trust package was under review.
Dad stared at me.
“I didn’t sign a deed.”
Rebecca requested the available copy.
His signature was there.
He looked at it for less than five seconds.
“That’s not mine.”
It looked like his.
But Dad knew his own hand.
We did not treat that as proof.
Rebecca contacted a forensic document examiner.
Then she asked the recorder to flag a formal dispute regarding authenticity.
That would not automatically void anything.
It would create notice.
Important difference.
The lender listed on the deed was Mesa Crest Private Capital.
Same envelope sent to my home.
“Can they take the farm?” Dad asked.
“Not today,” Rebecca said.
“What about later?”
“That depends on whether the document is genuine, whether any money funded, and what the lender knew.”
Dad looked seventy-seven instead of sixty-seven.
I felt rage rising again.
Rebecca saw it.
“Do not call your husband.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“No.”
At least that made her smile.
The document examiner compared Dad’s questioned signature against farm leases, tax forms, and bank records.
Preliminary result:
Strong indications of simulation.
Someone had likely traced or digitally reproduced Dad’s signature.
Not final yet.
Then the county package gave us a new clue.
Electronic submitter:
Bennett Development Partners.
Kyle’s company.
Authorized user:
H. Bennett.
Heather.
I stared at the screen.
“She works for him?”
Dad asked.
“Part-time bookkeeping.”
I had always thought Heather mostly handled social media and office events.
Apparently she had filing access.
I called her.
Rebecca objected with her face.
I ignored her.
Heather answered.
“What?”
“Did you submit a deed of trust against my father’s farm?”
Silence.
Then: “Kyle told me to upload a package.”
“Did you look at it?”
“No.”
“You inserted a document at the notary appointment.”
“My brother asked me to bring a page.”
“You watched Dad sign it.”
“He signed voluntarily.”
“You heard Susan tell him I could lose my house.”
“You could.”
I stopped.
“What did you say?”
Heather went quiet.
“You said I could lose my house.”
“I don’t know all the details.”
“That sounds like a detail.”
“Talk to Kyle.”
She hung up.
Rebecca stared at me.
“That was reckless.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because she just confirmed something.”
Heather knew my house was involved.
Not just Dad’s farm.
Rebecca opened the Mesa Crest envelope with my permission.
The first page was a notice of preliminary closing conditions.
Collateral listed:
Hayes Family Farm, Buffalo County, Nebraska.
Bennett Residence, Scottsdale, Arizona.
I felt the room tilt.
My home.
The house I bought before I married Kyle.
The house Susan had been sitting inside while humiliating my father.
Rebecca continued reading.
“Closing target date was yesterday.”
“Was?”
She looked at me.
“There’s a funding reference number.”
My throat tightened.
“Does that mean money already moved?”
“Possibly.”
She called the lender’s attorney.
No substantive discussion without authorization.
But one fact was confirmed.
The transaction had funded.
Something had already happened.
May you like
The next question was how much.
📖 County records revealed a forged farm lien submitted through Heather’s account, while the lender packet showed Chloe’s Scottsdale home had been pledged in the same transaction. 👇
