Page 29 of Finding Home at Hearts Hotel

But the bottom of the page, where the final consent of the parties was required to officially file and register the decree, was blank. The line designated for the husband's signature was empty. There was no court clerk's stamp at the margin, and no registration number.

"This can't be right," Linda whispered to the empty room, her voice sounding small and hollow against the high cedar rafters.

She stared at the blank line, her mind spinning in a chaotic whirl of legal implications. If the final decree was never signed, and if the completed paperwork was never officially filed with the state registry clerk in Florida, then the legal process had never been completed.

With trembling fingers, she retrieved her mobile phone from her pocket and speed-dialed her brother’s number.

The line clicked twice before Michael’s voice came through the speaker, his tone bright, energetic, and still buzzing with the sheer euphoria of his marriage proposal to Maggie barely an hour prior. "Hey, did you find the safe key and the will?"

"Michael, can you get up here right now?" Linda asked.

The silence on the other end of the line was immediate, the happy noise of his office vanishing. "Is everything okay up there?" Michael’s voice changed to one of sharp concern. "Are you hurt?"

"Just get up here," Linda told him, her eyes remaining fixed on the empty signature line. "Now."

She disconnected the call, leaning her shoulder against the mahogany desk frame as she waited.

Less than two minutes later, the heavy oak door of the penthouse was flung open with a loud crash. Michael rushed through the threshold, his chest heaving under his linen shirt, his face pale with a frantic panic. He looked around the living room, his eyes scanning the space until they landed on Linda standing by the open wall safe.

"Linda," Michael called out, his voice breathless and slightly frantic as he closed the distance between them in a few longstrides. He grabbed her upper arms, his dark eyes searching her face. "What is it? What happened?"

Linda turned the document in her hands, holding the blue-backed pages up so he could see the court seal and the blank signature lines. "What does this mean?"

Michael’s frown deepened as he took the papers from her fingers. His sharp legal mind, trained to analyze complex estate contracts and litigation registries, instantly clicked into gear. He flipped to the final page, his eyes tracking the empty lines, the lack of a judicial entry stamp, and the missing registry number. His face went completely still, his jaw setting hard.

"It means we need to call Anna," Michael whispered, his voice taking on a heavy tone.

Linda swallowed hard, her chest tightening. "Should we speak to Uncle George first? He’s at the house right now."

"I don't think we should get involved in this directly with him," Michael advised, shaking his head slowly as he handed the documents back to her. "This is an incredibly delicate personal matter, and given his cardiac recovery, a shock like this needs to be managed with absolute caution. Anna needs to see this first."

Linda nodded in agreement, her fingers moving quickly across her phone screen to dial their aunt’s number.

The line connected almost instantly, and Anna’s cheerful voice carried through the speaker. "Hello, sweetheart. I was actually just about to call you. I heard the wonderful news about Michael and Maggie from Rosa, and I was going to suggest we get them to officially announce the engagement tonight at George's welcome-home party."

Linda closed her eyes, trying to force her flat, strained voice to sound positive. "That’s a great idea, Aunt Anna. But, can you come and meet Michael and me up in Uncle George’s apartment right now?"

A moment of quiet settled over the line. “Is everything okay up there?"

"We're not entirely sure," Linda admitted, looking at her brother. "Can you come up now?"

"I'm on my way," Anna said, and the line went dead.

Linda lowered the phone, turning to face her brother. "Well, this is certainly going to be interesting," she sighed, shaking her head. "Do you think this was intentional? Do you think he kept them blank on purpose?"

"I told you, little sister," Michael said, taking the document back and staring down at the faded type. "We can't get involved in their past decisions. This belongs to them."

"But what about Uncle George's heart?" Linda asked, her eyes wide with worry as she thought of his recent medical relapse. "If he discovers that this is out in the open..."

"We'll let Anna decide what she wants to do next," Michael told her, his voice steadying as he placed the folder on the desk.

The front door of the penthouse opened with a click, and Anna walked through the threshold. She stopped near the entryway, her sharp, analytical eyes moving between brother and sister, immediately sensing the heavy layer of tension in the quiet room.

"What's going on?" Anna asked, stepping onto the rug.

"I was going through Uncle George's legal papers to find his will," Linda explained, her voice low as she felt a sudden flush of guilt, as if she had been caught snooping through his private life. "And these documents fell out of the back of the binder."

She reached for the blue-backed papers and handed them across the space.