Chapter 3: The Signature That Wasn't Mine
“I'm calling the police,” Jessica whispered.
Daniel spun toward her.
“You're not calling anyone.””
She clutched her bouquet against her chest.
“You used my name to register a company that tried to steal twelve million dollars!””
“I told you to trust me.””
“You told me we were going to start a new life together!””
“We are, if you stop acting like an idiot!””
The cruelty in his voice was so casual that even Patricia looked startled.
Jessica's bouquet slipped from her hands.
She took another step away from him.
I watched her carefully. An hour ago, I would have called her the other woman without hesitation. Now I saw a terrified young woman who might have been lied to as thoroughly as I had.
But I wasn't ready to forgive her.
Not yet.
“Grandpa,” I said, “I want to see the document.””
Margaret opened her briefcase.
“Our legal team has a preliminary copy. I can arrange for the original electronic records to be preserved.””
“Do it.””
Daniel laughed nervously.
“You can't seriously believe I would risk everything over twelve million dollars.””
I turned toward him.
“You risked my life savings to keep your father's company afloat. You lied to me for months. You shoved me to the floor today. Why should I believe anything you say?””
His expression hardened.
“Because you know I love you.””
The words landed with an almost comical emptiness.
I remembered the night he proposed. We had been standing on a terrace overlooking the Napa Valley vineyards. He'd held a simple diamond ring in his palm and told me I was the only person who had ever made him feel understood.
I had cried.
He had kissed away my tears.
That memory now felt like a photograph of strangers.
“No,” I said.
“I know you loved what you thought I could give you.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“You're making a mistake.””
“Then let me make it.””
Grandpa touched my shoulder gently.
“Phoebe, we should have your wrist examined.””
“I will. But first, I want answers.””
He studied my face for a moment, then nodded.
“Margaret?””
She took out her phone and called the company's general counsel again.
Within minutes, a hotel security manager arrived with two uniformed officers. Someone had contacted them about the disturbance, and the possible financial fraud changed the nature of the situation immediately.
The officers separated the people involved and began taking statements.
Daniel tried to speak over everyone.
“This is a private family matter.””
One officer looked at him.
“Sir, a potential financial crime has been reported. We need you to cooperate.””
“I'm a senior executive. I have lawyers.””
“Then you can have your lawyer contact us.””
For the first time, Daniel looked genuinely powerless.
Robert pulled him aside.
“What did you do?”” he hissed.
“Nothing!””
“Don't lie to me. That company is registered to Jessica. Your name is on the authorization. Explain it.””
Daniel grabbed his father's lapel.
“You said the Sterling investment would save us!””
“I said we were negotiating an investment!””
“You said Charles was desperate to close the deal.””
Robert stared at him.
“Desperate? I told you not to interfere with the negotiations!””
The officer approached them.
“Gentlemen, please separate.””
Robert released his son.
I looked at Margaret.
“Can we determine when that document was created?””
“Not from this copy alone,” she said.
“But the electronic audit trail should tell us which accounts accessed it, when it was submitted, and whether the signature was generated through an authorized device.””
“Then preserve everything.””
“We will.””
Daniel heard me.
He walked toward us, ignoring the officer's warning to maintain distance.
“Phoebe, please. Just listen to me for one minute.””
I didn't move.
He lowered his voice.
“Jessica was a mistake. I was under pressure. My father was panicking about the merger, and I made some bad decisions.””
“Bad decisions?””
“I can explain the transfer.””
“Then explain it.””
His eyes darted toward Margaret.
“Not here.””
“You had no problem humiliating me here.””
“Phoebe, I was trying to make a clean break.””
“By bringing your assistant in a wedding dress?””
His jaw tightened.
“I needed people to understand that the engagement was over.””
“You could have told me privately.””
“You wouldn't have understood.””
I almost smiled.
There it was again. His favorite excuse. The belief that my intelligence ended wherever his lies began.
“Tell me one thing, Daniel. When did you decide to steal from my company?””
His face changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
“You're twisting everything,” he said.
“Then answer the question.””
He leaned closer.
“You have no idea how complicated this situation is.””
“Make it simple.””
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“The money wasn't supposed to come from your company.””
Margaret went still.
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel glanced over his shoulder, then looked back at me.
“I was told the funds were already approved. I was only supposed to facilitate the transfer.””
“Who told you that?””
He swallowed.
“I can't say.””
“Can't or won't?””
Before he could answer, Robert stepped forward.
“Daniel, stop talking.””
The command came too late.
Daniel looked at his father with open hatred.
“You told me it would be fine!””
Robert's face crumpled.
“Not another word.””
The officers moved closer.
My grandfather stood beside me, silent but alert.
I turned to Robert.
“What did you tell him?””
He shook his head.
“I don't know what he's talking about.””
“You were negotiating an eighty-five-million-dollar investment with my family. Your son has an authorization carrying my forged signature. And now you're telling me you don't know anything?””
“I swear to you, Phoebe, I never approved any transfer.””
“Then you should want us to find out who did.””
Robert lowered his eyes.
That was when Margaret's phone vibrated again.
She read the message, and all the color drained from her face.
“What is it?”” Grandpa asked.
She hesitated.
“It's the preliminary audit report. The transfer authorization wasn't created yesterday, as the submission date suggests.””
“Then when?””
Margaret looked directly at me.
“The original document was created eleven months ago.””
Eleven months.
Daniel and I had been engaged for eleven months.
I gripped the edge of a nearby chair.
“Who created it?””
Margaret scrolled down the report.
“The account that generated the document belongs to a former Sterling Enterprises executive. Someone who left the company two years ago.””
Grandpa's expression turned cold.
“Name.””
Margaret looked at the screen again.
Then she lifted her eyes.
“Evelyn Bennett.””
My mother's name.
The ballroom seemed to disappear around me.
My mother had been dead for six years.
She had never worked for Sterling Enterprises, never held an executive position, and never had access to its financial systems.
Yet someone had used her name to create a document that could send twelve million dollars into a company controlled by my fiancé and his mistress.
I looked at Grandpa.
“That's impossible.””
He didn't answer immediately.
For the first time since I had ordered him to cancel the merger, he looked shaken.
Then he reached for my hand.
“Phoebe,” he said quietly, “there's something about your mother's death that I never told you.””
May you like
And behind him, Robert Crawford whispered a name I had not heard in years.
“Richard.””
