Chapter 5: My Mother's Signature
Marcus stared at his mother.
For the first time in my life, I saw him look at her like a stranger.
“Your initials?””
Mom nodded slowly.
Marcus shook his head.
“No. You're saying you signed those transfers?””
“I didn't say that.””
“Then what are you saying?””
Mom reached for the back of a chair.
“I signed documents for your father. Sometimes he was traveling, and he asked me to handle company paperwork.””
Marcus slammed the folder onto the desk.
“Two million dollars doesn't get transferred by accident!””
“I know.””
“Then explain it!””
Richard Cole raised a hand.
“Marcus, please. Let her finish.””
Mom looked at me.
“Your father discovered that someone had been using my signature to authorize payments. He asked me to help him find out who.””
I stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell us?””
“Because he believed the person responsible was watching the family.””
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“Then why did Vanessa confess?””
Mom looked down.
“Because Vanessa wasn't just married to you. She was working for the person who controlled Northbridge Holdings.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“Who?””
Mom didn't answer.
Richard opened another folder.
“Your father hired a handwriting specialist before his death. The report established that several signatures on the transfer documents were forged.””
He placed two sheets side by side.
One was Mom's genuine signature.
The other was the signature on the bank authorization.
They were remarkably similar.
But not identical.
Mom pointed to the second document.
“Look at the final letter.””
I leaned forward.
The forged signature ended with a small upward stroke.
Mom's signature ended with a long downward curve.
Marcus stared.
“So someone copied her signature.””
Richard nodded.
“Your father suspected the person had access to Evelyn's personal documents.””
I remembered Vanessa's words at the pool house.
Someone who has access to our private accounts, our business records, and our family documents.
“Vanessa,” I whispered.
Richard looked at me.
“Your sister-in-law was questioned by your father shortly before his death. She admitted signing one document, but she refused to identify the person who instructed her.””
Marcus sank into his chair.
“Why would she do that?””
Mom answered.
“Because the person threatened her.””
“Who?””
This time, Richard reached into the safe and removed a photograph.
He placed it on the desk.
It showed my father standing outside a restaurant with two people.
One was Vanessa.
The other was a tall man wearing a gray overcoat.
Marcus leaned closer.
His mouth opened.
“That's Daniel.””
I looked at the photograph.
The man was older than the Daniel in our family pictures, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
The date printed on the back was October 22.
Eleven years ago.
More than a month after the supposed fatal accident.
Marcus stood abruptly.
“Daniel was alive.””
Richard nodded.
“Your father believed so.””
“Why did everyone tell me he was dead?””
Mom began crying.
“Because the police identified the body as Daniel's.””
“Then who was in the coffin?””
Richard looked at her.
“We never established that.””
Marcus paced around the office.
“My brother was alive, and nobody told me?””
“Your father wanted to find him first,” Richard explained.
“He feared Daniel was involved in something dangerous.””
Marcus stopped.
“Or someone wanted him dead.””
Nobody answered.
Richard opened the folder again.
“There is something else. Your father created a second trust after discovering the fraudulent transfers.””
He removed another document.
This one listed several assets.
The lake house.
Two commercial properties.
A brokerage account.
And a controlling interest in Harper Development.
Marcus stared.
“Dad transferred the company shares?””
“To Claire,” Richard replied.
I nearly dropped my handbag.
“What?””
Richard nodded.
“Your father believed you were the only family member who had no connection to the financial arrangements.””
I shook my head.
“I don't know anything about running a construction company.””
“You don't need to know today. The trust was created to protect the assets until the fraud investigation was resolved.””
Marcus looked at me.
“You own Dad's controlling shares?””
“Apparently.””
Richard corrected him.
“Claire is the beneficiary. Evelyn has been administering the trust.””
I stared at the papers.
My father had left me more than a house.
He had left me the means to uncover what happened to him.
But why?
Richard slid a final envelope across the desk.
“Your father wrote this shortly before his death. He instructed me to give it to Claire only after the confession was authenticated.””
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a single page.
My dearest Claire,
If you are reading this, something happened that I couldn't prevent.
I know your brother-in-law has spent years making everyone believe Marcus is the natural heir. I know Vanessa will do whatever she must to protect the person she serves.
But there is something you don't know.
The night before the accident, I received a phone call from someone who told me Daniel was coming home.
That person was your husband.
I stopped reading.
The room became strangely quiet.
Marcus looked at me.
“What?””
I handed him the letter.
He read the sentence twice.
Then he shook his head.
“That's impossible.””
Richard leaned back.
“Your father was very careful with his wording.””
Marcus looked at Mom.
“Did I call Dad that night?””
Mom nodded.
“You did.””
“What did I tell him?””
Mom closed her eyes.
“You told him Daniel wanted to meet him.””
Marcus stared at the letter.
“I remember that call.””
I felt my heart beating harder.
“Then what happened?””
Marcus looked at me.
“I was supposed to meet Daniel at a restaurant. He called me from a pay phone. He said he had something important to tell Dad.””
“Did you tell Dad?””
“Yes.””
“What happened after that?””
Marcus swallowed.
“I got into my car and drove to the restaurant.””
Mom grabbed his arm.
“No.””
He looked at her.
“What?””
“You never arrived.””
Marcus frowned.
“I did.””
Mom shook her head.
“Your father waited for you at that restaurant for three hours. He called the house because he was worried.””
Marcus stared at her.
“I was there.””
Richard stood slowly.
“Marcus, what time did you arrive?””
“About eight.””
Richard checked the date on the document.
Then he looked up.
“That's strange.””
“What?””
“The restaurant closed at seven that evening.””
Marcus's face changed.
He pulled out his phone.
“I have an old calendar backup. I can check.””
His fingers moved quickly.
Then he turned the screen toward us.
There was a calendar entry dated September 14.
*Dinner with Daniel — 8:00 PM.*
Underneath it was a location.
A restaurant in Boston.
I looked at the date again.
Then at Richard.
“That's not the restaurant Dad went to.””
Richard shook his head.
“No.””
He took another document from the folder.
It was a police report.
The accident that killed my father had occurred at 8:17 PM.
On a road fifteen miles away from the restaurant.
Marcus stared at the paper.
“Someone sent me to Boston.””
Mom whispered, “And someone made your father believe you were meeting Daniel.””
Richard nodded.
Then he pointed to a handwritten note on the back of the police report.
May you like
It contained four words.
Marcus never made it home.
