Chapter 2: The Signature
Vanessa’s face went white.
The attorney, Martin Cole, stepped into the bridal suite and closed the door behind him.
Nobody moved.
“Martin,” Vanessa said, “this isn’t the time.””
“I think it’s exactly the time.””
I held up the folder.
“Did you prepare these?””
Martin’s eyes stayed on Vanessa.
“I prepared an initial draft.””
“Initial draft?””
“Yes.””
I opened to the signature page.
“Is this supposed to be my signature?””
He walked closer.
When he saw it, his jaw tightened.
“I never witnessed you sign that.””
Vanessa interrupted.
“Because Daniel signed at home.””
“No, I didn’t.””
Linda looked between us.
“Vanessa, what is going on?””
“Mom, stay out of this.””
“She’s your mother,” Martin said.
“And if what Daniel is saying is true, you have a much bigger problem than a canceled wedding.””
Vanessa stared at him.
“Whose side are you on?””
“I’m an attorney, Vanessa. Not your accomplice.””
The word hung in the room.
Accomplice.
Sophie buried her face against my jacket.
I immediately softened my voice.
“Sweetheart, look at me.””
She did.
“Did Vanessa tell you what the papers were?””
Sophie shook her head.
“She said they were surprise papers.””
“What kind of surprise?””
“She said we were going to be a real family.””
Vanessa groaned.
“Oh, come on.””
I snapped my head toward her.
“You will stay quiet while my daughter talks.””
For once, Vanessa listened.
Sophie rubbed her fingers together nervously.
“She told me to write my name.””
“Did she tell you where?””
“She put little yellow stickers on the paper.””
My stomach tightened.
“Did anybody else see you?””
Sophie thought.
“Mr. Greg.””
Vanessa suddenly looked terrified.
“Who’s Greg?”” Martin asked.
Sophie pointed toward Vanessa.
“Her friend.””
Vanessa shook her head quickly.
“She’s confused.””
“I’m not confused!”” Sophie cried.
I held her closer.
“It’s okay.””
Then Sophie looked up at me.
“Mr. Greg came to our house when you were gone.””
The room seemed to shrink.
“When?””
“The night Vanessa made me sign.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“You had a man in my house?””
“He’s a notary.””
Martin’s eyebrows rose.
“You had Greg Palmer notarize this?””
Vanessa said nothing.
Martin took the documents from me.
He flipped through them until he found the notarization page.
His expression darkened.
“Jesus.””
“What?””
Martin turned the page toward me.
A seal had been stamped beneath my forged signature.
GREGORY PALMER, NOTARY PUBLIC.
Martin exhaled slowly.
“If Greg notarized your signature without seeing you sign, that’s potentially serious.””
“Potentially?””
“Daniel, I need to examine everything before I say more.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“You’re all acting insane. I was trying to protect Sophie.””
“From whom?””
She looked at me.
“From you.””
I actually laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the accusation was so absurd my brain rejected it.
“From me?””
“You travel constantly.””
“For work.””
“You leave her with babysitters.””
“My sister lives two streets away.””
“You’re emotionally unstable.””
Martin raised his hand.
“Vanessa, stop talking.””
“No!””
She pointed at me.
“If something happened to Daniel, who gets Sophie?””
“My sister.””
“Exactly!””
Vanessa’s voice cracked.
“You were going to marry me and still leave Sophie to your sister if you died.””
“That arrangement was made before I met you.””
“And you never changed it!””
“Because Sophie barely knew you when my will was written.””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Three years, Daniel. Three years I gave you.””
Something about her wording bothered me.
Gave you.
Not loved us.
Not raised Sophie.
Gave you.
“What exactly do these documents do?”” I asked Martin.
He hesitated.
“They appear designed to establish Vanessa as Sophie’s legal guardian under several circumstances.””
“Several?””
“Incapacity. Death. Extended absence.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Extended absence?””
Martin nodded.
“That clause wasn’t in my draft.””
Vanessa suddenly looked at the door.
I noticed.
So did Martin.
“Where are you going?”” I asked.
“I need air.””
“No.””
“You can’t keep me here.””
“You’re right.””
I stepped aside.
“You can leave.””
She blinked.
“But the folder stays.””
Vanessa didn’t move.
That told me everything.
She cared more about those papers than her wedding.
Linda approached her daughter.
“Honey, tell me you didn’t forge his name.””
Vanessa’s eyes filled with tears.
“Mom…”
“Tell me.””
“I was trying to secure my future.””
Linda stepped backward as though Vanessa had struck her.
“Your future?””
“I’m thirty-four! I’ve spent three years helping raise his child, and if Daniel decides tomorrow that he’s done with me, I leave with nothing.””
“You were marrying me,” I said.
“That doesn’t guarantee anything.””
“What did you want guaranteed?””
She looked away.
Martin kept turning pages.
Then he stopped.
“Daniel.””
Something in his voice made my skin prickle.
“What?””
“There’s another attachment.””
He pulled three pages from the back of the folder.
The first page contained my name.
The second contained Sophie’s.
The third contained numbers.
Large numbers.
“What is that?””
Martin read silently.
Then he looked at me.
“This references the trust Rachel established for Sophie.””
I stopped breathing for a second.
Rachel.
My late wife.
Before she died, Rachel had placed part of her life insurance payout and inheritance into a protected trust for Sophie.
Vanessa knew it existed.
She was never supposed to have access to its details.
“How did she get that information?””
Martin looked toward Vanessa.
“That’s a question she needs to answer.””
Vanessa grabbed her torn skirt.
“This is ridiculous.””
She headed for the door.
Sophie suddenly spoke.
“She knows the password.””
Vanessa stopped.
I looked down.
“What password?””
Sophie pointed at the folder.
“The money password.””
My pulse hammered.
“What are you talking about?””
Sophie swallowed.
“When you were away, Vanessa went into your office.””
My home office had a safe.
Inside were copies of my will, Rachel’s trust documents, property records, and several encrypted backup drives.
Only two people knew the safe combination.
Me.
And my sister, Claire.
Or so I had believed.
“She opened the black box,” Sophie continued.
“The safe?””
Sophie nodded.
“She told Mr. Greg, ‘Now we have everything.’”
I stared at Vanessa.
She stared back.
For the first time since I had entered the bridal suite, she didn’t have an excuse ready.
Then my phone buzzed.
A security notification appeared on the screen.
HOME SAFE — ACCESS ATTEMPT DETECTED.
I frowned.
Nobody should have been at my house.
Then another notification appeared.
FRONT DOOR OPENED.
I opened the security app.
The hallway camera loaded.
A man in a gray suit was standing inside my house.
He carried a black duffel bag.
Sophie leaned closer to the screen.
Her fingers tightened around my hand.
“That’s him, Daddy.””
“Who?””
May you like
Her voice became a whisper.
“Mr. Greg.””
