Chapter 6: The Signature That Wasn't Mine
For several seconds, I thought I had misheard Detective Morgan.
"My what?""
She held a tablet against her chest.
"Your name appears in the authentication record for the reactivated account. We're not saying that proves you initiated the transfer. We are saying your credentials were used.""
Daniel's expression changed so quickly that I almost missed it.
First came surprise.
Then relief.
Then something that looked dangerously close to satisfaction.
"Well," he said, adjusting his cuffs, "that certainly changes things.""
I turned toward him.
"Don't.""
He raised his hands.
"I'm just saying, perhaps Ethan should explain why his name is on the records before everyone decides I'm the villain.""
Detective Morgan stepped between us.
"Nobody is deciding anything at this moment. We're establishing facts.""
Robert approached her.
"My client denies authorizing the transfer. We have reason to believe his signature and credentials have been compromised.""
"That will be part of the investigation," she replied.
"I will need copies of the documents and the original authorization records.""
Robert nodded.
"I'll cooperate fully.""
I barely heard them.
My attention was fixed on the succession document in my hand.
Vanessa's name had been inserted into a clause that my father insisted he never approved. Someone had altered a legal instrument, forged my signature, and attempted to move millions of dollars.
But now my own credentials were connected to the same scheme.
I looked at Dad.
"How could someone use my security key?""
He rubbed his forehead.
"Do you still keep the emergency access device I gave you when you first took over the company?""
"Yes. It's in my home office safe.""
"Has anyone else had access to that safe?""
I hesitated.
Vanessa had visited my house countless times. She knew where I kept important papers. I'd given her the security code to the house years earlier, though I'd never given her the safe combination.
Daniel had also visited while I was traveling.
"Possibly," I admitted.
"But the safe has a separate code.""
Dad nodded slowly.
"Then we need to determine whether the device was copied or replaced.""
Vanessa suddenly stepped forward.
"I didn't do it.""
Everyone turned toward her.
Her mascara had streaked down her cheeks, and her wedding bouquet hung limply from one hand.
"I never touched Ethan's security device. I swear.""
I looked at her.
"Why should I believe you?""
She flinched.
"Because I may have lied about loving you, but I didn't forge your signature.""
The distinction was so absurd that I almost laughed.
"You admitted you were working with Daniel.""
"I admitted he offered me money.""
"You said the transfer would be completed before anyone noticed.""
"Because that's what he told me!""
Daniel barked out a laugh.
"Oh, now it's all my fault?""
Vanessa spun toward him.
"You told me the shares were already approved! You said Ethan would sign the final papers after the ceremony!""
"I said we had an agreement.""
"You said I'd get two million dollars!""
"And you agreed!""
She stepped toward him, her hands trembling.
"You said the company would belong to us.""
Daniel's expression turned vicious.
"Don't pretend you were doing this for love. You wanted the money as much as I did.""
Patricia grabbed Vanessa's arm.
"Stop talking. Right now.""
Vanessa pulled free.
"No! You told me this was safe. You said Ethan would never check the paperwork because he trusted me.""
Patricia's eyes narrowed.
"After everything I've done for you, you're going to blame me?""
"You told me to marry him!""
"And you wanted the lifestyle!""
Their argument spilled across the ballroom, each accusation exposing another piece of the scheme.
I watched them and felt something inside me go strangely quiet.
For three years, I had mistaken expensive gifts for devotion. I'd interpreted jealousy as passion and control as concern. I'd believed that if I gave Vanessa enough, eventually she would feel secure enough to love me without conditions.
I'd been wrong.
But the fraud was bigger than our failed relationship.
Detective Morgan turned toward Daniel.
"Mr. Carter, I need you to explain your relationship with the investment company listed in these documents.""
Daniel straightened.
"My attorney can answer that.""
"Then tell me who your attorney is.""
He hesitated.
"Michael Grant.""
Robert's head snapped up.
"Michael Grant?""
Daniel looked at him.
"Yes. Why?""
Robert exchanged a look with my father.
"What?"" I demanded.
Dad answered.
"Michael was the attorney who handled the preliminary paperwork after my accident.""
Robert shook his head.
"He was also the attorney who certified the original succession trust.""
The ballroom seemed to shrink around us.
I looked at the altered document.
"You're telling me the same attorney handled the trust that someone changed and the paperwork connected to the fraudulent transfer?""
"We're saying the connection needs investigation," Robert replied carefully.
Detective Morgan made a note.
"Where can we locate Mr. Grant?""
Daniel didn't answer.
Then Patricia did something that made everyone turn toward her.
She pulled a small envelope from her handbag and tried to slip it into Vanessa's bouquet.
Vanessa noticed.
"Mom, what are you doing?""
"Nothing.""
"Give me that.""
Patricia clutched the envelope to her chest.
"Don't be ridiculous.""
Vanessa grabbed her wrist.
The envelope tore.
Several sheets of paper fell to the floor.
One slid beneath a nearby chair.
I bent down and picked it up.
It was a photocopy of my passport.
Beside it was a document containing my signature, my date of birth, and a handwritten bank account number.
At the bottom was a note.
*AUTHORIZATION COMPLETE AFTER CEREMONY.*
My blood ran cold.
"Patricia," I said, "what is this?""
She snatched at the paper.
"Those are private documents.""
I held them away from her.
"Why do you have copies of my passport?""
"Vanessa asked me to keep them.""
Vanessa shook her head violently.
"I never gave you that!""
Patricia rounded on her.
"You told me to keep everything together in case something went wrong!""
"I meant the wedding papers!""
Detective Morgan picked up the remaining pages.
"Ma'am, I need you to step away from the documents.""
Patricia's face tightened.
"You can't seriously suspect me because I have paperwork belonging to my daughter's fiancé.""
"At the moment, I'm interested in why that paperwork appears connected to an unauthorized financial transaction.""
Patricia looked toward Daniel.
He stared at the floor.
That was when I understood something important.
They weren't a united team anymore.
They were people who had trusted one another only as long as everyone believed the plan was working.
Now they were beginning to turn on each other.
Robert examined the documents.
"Ethan, this account number is not the Carter Industries account.""
"Whose is it?""
He checked the last four digits.
Then he looked at my father.
Richard went completely still.
"Where did you get that?"" he asked.
Patricia said nothing.
Dad took the document from Robert and studied it.
"This account belonged to your mother.""
My breath caught.
"My mother died when I was twelve.""
"I know.""
He turned the paper over.
"She opened it shortly before she died. I believed it had been closed.""
I looked at him.
"What does that have to do with any of this?""
Dad's voice dropped.
"Your mother discovered something about the company before her death. Something I never fully understood.""
Daniel suddenly looked up.
"Richard, don't.""
My father ignored him.
"She left instructions that the account should remain untouched until both my sons were adults.""
"Both sons?"" I repeated.
Dad nodded.
"The account wasn't simply a place to keep money. It was connected to a private trust.""
Robert stared at the paper.
"If that's true, this could explain why someone needed Ethan's credentials.""
"Why?"" I asked.
"Because the trust may require your authorization to release its assets.""
I looked from Robert to my father.
"What assets?""
Neither man answered immediately.
Then Detective Morgan's phone rang.
She listened for several seconds, asked a question, and turned pale.
"Understood. Send the records to my secure email.""
She ended the call.
"What happened?"" Robert asked.
"The bank has located the original trust registration.""
She looked at me.
"There's an active beneficiary record connected to your mother's account. The account was accessed yesterday.""
"By whom?""
Detective Morgan checked her notes.
"The access request was submitted under Vanessa Reed's name.""
Vanessa staggered backward.
"No. That's impossible.""
I stared at her.
"You said you'd never touched my financial records.""
"I haven't!""
Detective Morgan continued.
"The request also included a scanned copy of a death certificate.""
My father's expression hardened.
"Whose death certificate?""
The detective looked at him.
"Richard Carter's.""
Dad gripped his walking stick.
"That certificate has been in the county records for seven years.""
"Not this copy," she replied.
"This one was digitally altered yesterday.""
She turned the tablet toward us.
The certificate was visible on the screen.
The name was Richard Carter.
The date of death was seven years earlier.
But the signature authorizing the record belonged to a physician who had died five years ago.
I stared at the document.
Someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure my father remained legally dead.
Then I noticed the handwritten note attached to the scanned file.
*ONCE THE TRUST RELEASES, THE WITNESS MUST DISAPPEAR.*
I read the sentence twice.
A cold sensation spread through my chest.
"Who is the witness?"" I asked.
My father didn't look at the screen.
He looked directly at me.
And when he answered, his voice was barely audible.
"Your mother left one final instruction, Ethan.""
He reached into his coat and removed a small photograph.
It showed my mother standing in front of a hospital, holding a newborn baby.
I stared at the child in her arms.
Then I noticed the date printed on the back.
May you like
It was three years after my mother had supposedly died.
And the name written beneath the date was Daniel Carter.
