The Signature That Ended It

I'm a lawyer, and I watched another one disappear overnight. She was respected, careful, brilliant with detail. Then came a massive property settlement ' stacks of documents, endless signatures, pressure that never seemed to lift. Sometime in the early hours, after days without rest, she realised one signature was missing. One minor page. She forged it. Probably told herself it didn't change the outcome. Probably believed her client would have signed it anyway. Someone noticed. And that was it. Career over. From the outside it looked sudden. From the inside, it felt inevitable. Now people sometimes ask me to 'just witness' a signature I didn't actually see. They roll their eyes when I refuse. I think of her every time. And I say no, every single time.