Dates began to slip. Property filings listed a Charles born in 1978, a little older than the man she’d met. Lauren dug deeper, heart ticking faster, until an obituary surfaced—Charles Winthrop, died 2018, car accident abroad. She frowned. It must be a different relative, surely.
The photo loaded slowly: early-forties, same easy smile, same sharp jaw. Lauren’s breath caught. Dates and details matched the man from her door, unmistakable. If the real Charles died, this was an impersonator, wearing a dead man’s name to control Mabel and her assets!