Chapter 4: The Night Lucas Discovered the Betrayal
Daniel stood beside the hospital window, his reflection pale against the dark glass.
"He found evidence that someone was moving money through a company he didn't recognize," he said.
"At first, Lucas thought it was an accounting error. Then he discovered the payments had been approved using his own credentials.""
I stared at him.
"Someone was pretending to be Lucas?""
"Someone was using his authorization to move money.""
"Who?""
Daniel looked down at his hands.
"That was what he was trying to find out.""
I pressed Lucas's letter against my chest. The paper had begun to wrinkle beneath my fingers.
"Was it Richard?""
"I don't know.""
"Was it Vanessa?""
"I don't know that either, Emily.""
"Then what do you know?""
Daniel pulled his chair closer to the bed.
"I know Lucas was frightened enough to call me after midnight. And I know he made me promise to help you if anything happened to him.""
I swallowed hard.
"What happened when you went to his office?""
Daniel took a long breath.
"Lucas was standing over his desk with three folders open. There were bank statements, company records, and a photograph of a document he'd printed from an internal system.""
"What was in the photograph?""
"A signature.""
"Whose signature?""
"Yours.""
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
"My signature?""
Daniel nodded.
"Lucas showed me a transfer authorization bearing your name. It supposedly gave someone permission to access a private account.""
"But I've never authorized anything like that.""
"I know. Lucas knew, too.""
I shook my head.
"I've never even seen one of his company's bank statements.""
"That's why he was investigating.""
Daniel reached for his phone and scrolled through several photographs.
"I took pictures of some of the documents before I left. Lucas asked me to keep copies somewhere safe.""
He turned the screen toward me.
The first photograph showed a spreadsheet filled with dates, account numbers, and amounts.
The second showed a company name.
*Northbridge Holdings, LLC.*
The third showed a document with my name at the bottom.
I recognized the signature immediately.
It looked like mine.
Almost.
The E in Emily was too narrow. The final stroke of my surname was wrong. Whoever had copied it had imitated the shape without understanding the way my hand naturally moved across the page.
"That's a forgery," I whispered.
Daniel nodded.
"Lucas thought so.""
"Why would anyone forge my signature?""
"To make it appear that you approved the transfers.""
I stared at the screen.
A terrible thought formed in my mind.
"Richard could say I stole the money.""
"That's possible.""
"And if he convinced people that I did, he could blame me for everything.""
Daniel didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The door opened, and Jonathan Price stepped into the room carrying a second briefcase.
"I apologize for returning without warning," he said.
"Daniel contacted me.""
I looked at Daniel.
He shrugged.
"You needed answers.""
Jonathan set the briefcase on the table.
"Mr. Hayes has shown me the photographs. I would like to be very clear about something, Mrs.
Carter. These documents are potentially significant, but photographs alone do not establish who created them or whether the transactions were fraudulent.""
"Can you investigate?""
"Yes. And I have already instructed my office to preserve the relevant records.""
He opened his briefcase and removed a document.
"Before we discuss the financial review, I need to explain the trust your husband established.""
I sat straighter.
"What trust?""
"Three years ago, Lucas transferred his shares in a company called Carter Meridian into an irrevocable trust. The trust was established for your benefit and for the benefit of your child.""
I blinked.
"Three years ago? We had only just married.""
"Correct.""
"Why didn't he tell me?""
Jonathan gave me a sympathetic look.
"I can't speak to his personal reasons. But I can tell you that he funded the trust with shares that had originally been given to him by his grandfather.""
"Richard's father?""
"Yes. Your husband's grandfather established Carter Meridian long before Richard took control of the family's other businesses.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"How much is it worth?""
Jonathan opened a folder.
"The company's most recent independent valuation placed the shares held by the trust at approximately forty-two million dollars.""
The number seemed to hang in the air.
Forty-two million.
I almost laughed because it sounded so absurd.
"You're telling me Lucas left me forty-two million dollars?""
"I'm telling you that he established a trust for your benefit and your daughter's benefit. The assets are held by the trust, and their management is governed by its terms. You don't simply receive forty-two million dollars in cash.""
"But why would Richard care?""
Jonathan's expression grew serious.
"Because Carter Meridian owns the commercial properties and intellectual property that underpin several of the family's other businesses. Your husband's grandfather deliberately separated those assets from the companies Richard managed.""
"And Lucas inherited them?""
"He received the shares. Richard retained control over certain operating companies, but he never owned the trust's assets.""
Daniel slowly leaned back.
"Richard has been trying to get control of Carter Meridian for years.""
Jonathan nodded.
"That is my understanding.""
I looked from one man to the other.
"So Richard threw me out because he thinks he can take the company?""
"That is one possible explanation," Jonathan said carefully.
"We must establish his motives rather than assume them.""
I remembered Vanessa standing in the kitchen, her fingers resting on Richard's arm.
Her pleased expression when he questioned my pregnancy.
The way she had told him to hurry up and get rid of me.
"Does Vanessa have anything to do with Northbridge?""
Jonathan closed the folder.
"I cannot answer that yet.""
My phone rang.
Richard.
I stared at the screen until the call ended.
Then a text appeared.
*Your husband made reckless decisions. Don't let his lawyer manipulate you into repeating them. Come home tomorrow at ten. We need to discuss what belongs to this family.*
Another message followed.
*Bring the letter.*
I handed the phone to Jonathan.
He read the messages, then looked at me.
"Do not go to that meeting alone.""
"Do I have to go at all?""
"No.""
I looked down at Lucas's handwriting.
For three years, I had believed that the most important thing my husband left me was the child growing inside me.
Now I was learning that he had spent years protecting something I hadn't even known existed.
And his father was desperate to get it back.
"I want to know the truth," I said.
Jonathan nodded.
"Then we will proceed carefully.""
He gathered the photographs and placed them inside a protective folder.
"I have one more piece of information that may be relevant.""
My heart began to pound.
"What?""
"The night Lucas delivered the trust documents to my office, he also gave me an envelope addressed to a person named Vanessa Reed.""
Daniel stood.
"Vanessa?""
Jonathan nodded.
"He instructed me not to open it or deliver it unless certain conditions were met.""
"What conditions?"" I asked.
Jonathan looked directly at me.
"One of those conditions was that Vanessa attempt to remove you from the family home.""
I stared at him.
"Then why haven't you delivered it?""
"Because I received a message from your husband's father this morning claiming that Vanessa had already left the country.""
Daniel's face drained of color.
"That's a lie. I saw her in the house.""
Jonathan opened his briefcase again.
He removed a sealed envelope.
May you like
And beneath Vanessa's name, written in Lucas's unmistakable handwriting, were six words that made my blood run cold.
*You know what you did to Emily.*
