Chapter 7 - The Man Who Signed From the Grave
Nobody moved.
The words on the banking record seemed impossible.
Robert Carter.
Daniel's father had been buried twelve years earlier.
I had stood beside Daniel at the funeral.
I had watched him lower a white rose onto the coffin.
I remembered Evelyn crying until she could barely stand.
I remembered believing our family had survived its greatest tragedy.
Now every memory suddenly felt uncertain.
The senior officer picked up the authorization form.
"When was this signed?"
Rebecca pointed to the certification stamp.
"Eight months ago."
The officer studied the ink.
"The document is genuine."
Daniel shook his head over and over.
"No."
His voice cracked.
"I buried my father."
Mr. Hayes remained calm.
"Either someone forged his identity..."
"...or someone wanted everyone to believe he was dead."
Evelyn suddenly slammed her hand against the coffee table.
"Enough!"
Everyone turned toward her.
"I will not listen to this insanity."
The officer looked directly at her.
"Mrs. Carter, did you know about Carter Legacy Holdings?"
"No."
"Did you know about this signature?"
"No."
"Did you know anyone was using your late husband's identity?"
She hesitated.
Only for a second.
But everyone noticed.
Daniel noticed too.
He slowly looked at his mother.
"You knew something."
She looked away.
"I didn't."
"You did."
"I said no."
Daniel stood.
His voice became louder than I had ever heard it.
"My entire life you've told me Dad died protecting this family."
"He did."
"Then explain that!"
He pointed at the document.
Evelyn's breathing became uneven.
Finally she whispered,
"I thought it had all ended years ago."
The room fell silent.
Mr. Hayes narrowed his eyes.
"What ended?"
She closed her eyes.
"Your father..."
She looked at Daniel.
"...wasn't handling the company alone."
Daniel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"There was another partner."
"I've never heard that before."
"You weren't supposed to."
Rebecca quickly opened another folder.
"We searched the original incorporation records."
She placed an old black-and-white document on the table.
There were two signatures.
Robert Carter.
And another name.
William Monroe.
I frowned.
"I've heard that name."
Mr. Hayes nodded slowly.
"You should have."
"He was your father's closest friend."
I looked at him in surprise.
"My father never mentioned him."
"He stopped mentioning him after a lawsuit twenty-five years ago."
Daniel stared at the paper.
"So William owned half the company?"
Rebecca nodded.
"Fifty percent."
Daniel looked completely lost.
"Then why did Dad always tell me it was our family business?"
Nobody answered.
Instead, Rebecca pulled another document from her folder.
It was a newspaper clipping.
The headline read:
LOCAL BUSINESS PARTNERS DISAPPEAR AFTER FRAUD ALLEGATIONS
The article was twenty-three years old.
One photograph showed Robert Carter.
The other showed William Monroe.
Both men looked twenty years younger.
Both were smiling.
Until I noticed something.
"Wait."
I pointed toward the picture.
"This man..."
I looked closer.
"...looks exactly like the hospital director who attended my father's funeral."
Mr. Hayes nodded.
"Because it's the same man."
"William Monroe is alive?"
"So far, yes."
"And Robert?"
"We don't know."
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"I don't understand."
Rebecca continued.
"After the investigation collapsed, William Monroe disappeared from public business."
"What happened to him?"
"He became chairman of a private investment group."
Daniel looked confused.
"What does that have to do with us?"
Rebecca answered quietly.
"That investment group quietly purchased several of your father's outstanding debts after his reported death."
My heart skipped.
"The same debts my father supposedly paid?"
Mr. Hayes slowly nodded.
"It appears your father wasn't the only person trying to save the Carter family."
Everything became more complicated.
For years I had believed my father helped Daniel's family because of friendship.
Now another wealthy investor had done exactly the same thing.
Why?
The senior officer interrupted.
"We need to locate William Monroe."
Rebecca nodded.
"I already requested his current address."
She handed over a printed page.
The officer's expression immediately changed.
"What?"
He looked toward us.
"He checked into St. Andrew Medical Center yesterday."
Daniel frowned.
"Hospital?"
Rebecca nodded.
"Cardiac unit."
A strange feeling settled over me.
The timing was too perfect.
The banker died.
Millions disappeared.
A dead man's signature appeared.
And now the only surviving business partner was suddenly in the hospital.
The officer immediately called dispatch.
After a short conversation, he hung up.
"They're sending detectives."
Daniel quietly asked,
"Can I go?"
The officer hesitated.
"You're still part of this investigation."
"I know."
He looked completely exhausted.
"But if William knows what happened to my father..."
His voice broke.
"...I need answers."
I watched him carefully.
For the first time since our marriage began falling apart, I saw something besides fear of prison.
I saw a son.
A son who suddenly wasn't sure whether he had ever known his own father.
Mr. Hayes turned toward me.
"Ava?"
"Yes?"
"I think you should come too."
I looked surprised.
"Why?"
"Because every fraudulent account was opened in your name."
Rebecca added,
"And because whoever planned this operation has been moving money through your identity for nearly two years."
The officer nodded.
"If William Monroe talks..."
He looked directly at me.
"...you may finally learn why you were chosen."
Chosen.
The word echoed inside my mind.
Why me?
Why my identity?
Why my inheritance?
Why not someone else?
Then Noah quietly tugged on my sleeve.
"Mommy..."
I knelt beside him.
"What is it?"
"Are we sleeping here tonight?"
I looked around the house.
The home where I had built ten years of memories.
The home that suddenly felt unfamiliar.
"I don't know."
Lily looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"Can we stay with Grandpa?"
She meant my late father.
She still hadn't fully accepted that he was gone.
I hugged both children.
"We're going somewhere safe."
Just then, one of the officers received another call.
He answered.
Listened.
His expression hardened.
"What happened?"
Rebecca asked.
He slowly lowered the phone.
"That was St. Andrew Medical Center."
Everyone waited.
He took a deep breath.
"William Monroe disappeared from his hospital room..."
"...less than thirty minutes ago."
The room fell completely silent.
Then the officer added one final sentence.
May you like
"And according to hospital security cameras..."
"...he didn't leave alone."
