Chapter 3: The Woman Who Signed My Future Away
I couldn't stop staring at the signature.
Vanessa Carter.
Three days after my father's funeral.
My father had been dead for seventy-two hours, and my cousin had apparently been busy deciding what would happen to everything he had left behind.
"Explain," I said.
My voice sounded strange.
Almost unfamiliar.
Vanessa looked at my grandfather, then at my uncle.
Neither helped her.
She took a slow breath.
"Your father changed his will.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"He changed everything six months before the accident. He was going to leave you the company, but he was also going to remove Richard from the board.""
My uncle's face turned red.
"Vanessa, shut up.""
She ignored him.
"Your father believed Richard had been stealing money from Carter Holdings.""
Arthur nodded.
"Because he was.""
Richard slammed his hand against the table.
"That's not true!""
"Three offshore transfers," Arthur replied.
"Two shell companies. And nearly four million dollars that never appeared in the company's accounting records.""
Richard looked around desperately.
"Arthur, you cannot seriously believe Daniel's accusations over your own brother.""
"I believe the financial records.""
I looked between them.
My family.
The people who had attended my father's funeral, hugged me, brought casseroles to the hospital, and promised that everything would be okay.
Had they been planning this the entire time?
I turned toward Vanessa.
"Why did you sign the document?""
She folded her arms.
"Because someone had to keep the company from collapsing.""
"That doesn't answer my question.""
"You were in the hospital, Nia. You were unconscious. You weren't capable of making decisions.""
"So you made them for me?""
"Someone had to.""
I felt my fingernails press into my palms.
"Did you forge my signature?""
Her eyes flickered.
That was answer enough.
Arthur took the document from the table.
"She didn't forge Nia's signature. She signed as a witness to an authorization that was supposedly given by Nia.""
I stared at him.
"An authorization I never gave.""
"Correct.""
Derek shifted beside Vanessa.
"Maybe we should get lawyers involved.""
Arthur looked at him.
"Excellent idea. I've already called mine.""
He reached for his phone.
Vanessa suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"Grandpa, please. Just listen.""
Arthur pulled his arm away.
"I listened to you for four years.""
She lowered her voice.
"You don't understand. Richard said it was temporary. We were only supposed to manage the assets until Nia recovered.""
"Recovered?"" I repeated.
Vanessa looked at me.
"You know what I mean.""
"No. Tell me.""
She sighed.
"Everyone thought you would eventually get better.""
The room went still.
I stared at her.
"Get better?""
"You know what I mean. Walk again. Return to your life. We thought—"
"You thought I would become convenient again?""
Her cheeks flushed.
"That's not fair.""
I laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
"You stole my inheritance because you assumed I'd never be able to stand up and ask questions?""
Vanessa looked away.
And something inside me finally broke.
Not my heart.
Something else.
The part of me that had spent four years hoping my family would eventually remember who I was.
I had waited for invitations.
For phone calls.
For someone to ask whether I needed anything besides another appointment with a physical therapist.
I had accepted their excuses because I believed they were struggling to understand my disability.
Now I understood.
They weren't struggling to understand me.
They were waiting for me to disappear from the conversation.
Grandfather reached for my hand.
"Nia, there's something else.""
He removed a second document from the envelope.
"This is a copy of your father's original trust agreement.""
I looked at it.
The first page listed the assets.
The second listed the beneficiaries.
My name appeared at the top.
Then I noticed another name.
Vanessa Carter.
"Why is she listed?""
Arthur adjusted his glasses.
"Your father established a separate educational and investment fund for her when she was younger. It was generous, but conditional.""
"What conditions?""
"She was required to complete her university education and maintain a clean financial record. The fund was worth approximately two million dollars.""
Vanessa's expression changed.
"Grandpa, why are you bringing that up?""
Arthur continued.
"Your father discovered that money from the fund had been withdrawn illegally. The account was frozen shortly before his death.""
Vanessa shook her head.
"That wasn't my fault.""
"Your signature authorized the withdrawals.""
"I was told it was temporary!""
"By whom?""
She looked at Richard.
My uncle stared straight ahead.
Arthur placed another document on the table.
"Richard's company received the money.""
I looked at my uncle.
He didn't deny it.
Instead, he reached for his jacket.
One of the security guards stepped forward.
"Sir, please remain seated.""
Richard glared at him.
"Do you know who I am?""
"Yes, sir. That's why I'm asking you politely.""
For the first time that evening, I almost smiled.
Then Derek spoke.
"Look, perhaps there's been a misunderstanding about the watch.""
Arthur turned toward him.
"Explain it.""
Derek slowly removed the watch.
He placed it on the table.
"I bought it from Richard.""
My uncle's head snapped around.
"Shut your mouth.""
Derek continued.
"He told me it was an old family heirloom. He said it was his brother's.""
I stared at him.
"How much did you pay?""
"Nothing.""
"Then why were you wearing it?""
He hesitated.
"Richard gave it to me.""
Vanessa turned toward him.
"Derek, stop talking.""
But he was already unraveling.
"He said it would make things easier. He said Mr. Carter would recognize it and understand that we were part of the family.""
Arthur looked disgusted.
"You thought wearing my dead son's watch would make you look trustworthy?""
Derek lowered his eyes.
I looked at the watch lying beside my father's letter.
There was something else engraved on the back.
A date.
I leaned closer.
My father had shown me the engraving years ago.
It was the date of my birth.
Underneath were five tiny words.
For Nia, my greatest gift.
I covered my mouth.
He had never worn that watch because it was expensive.
He wore it because it reminded him of me.
And someone had taken it from his office, handed it to a stranger, and used it as a prop in their little performance.
"Give it to me," I whispered.
Derek immediately pushed it across the table.
I picked it up.
The metal was cold.
For a moment, I was six years old again, sitting on my father's shoulders while he laughed and pretended the watch made him late for work.
Then I remembered the crash.
The hospital.
The empty chair beside my bed.
I closed my fingers around the watch.
"Why did you do it?"" I asked Vanessa.
She looked at me.
"What?""
"Why did you let him wear it?""
She swallowed.
"Because I didn't think you'd recognize it.""
The honesty of her answer was more devastating than any denial.
I looked at my grandfather.
"What happens now?""
Arthur placed his hand over mine.
"Now we get everything your father wanted you to have.""
"And Richard?""
"His accounts will be investigated. The company will cooperate fully with the authorities.""
"And Vanessa?""
Arthur's expression hardened.
"That depends on what the investigation discovers.""
Vanessa began crying.
Not the quiet kind.
She pressed both hands against her face and sobbed.
"Grandpa, please. I made mistakes.""
I looked at her.
"You laughed when you saw my wheelchair.""
She lowered her hands.
"What?""
"You humiliated me in front of everyone tonight. You told me I was a burden. You made jokes about my chair.""
Her lips trembled.
"I didn't mean—"
"You knew exactly what you were doing.""
She stepped closer.
"Nia, we're family.""
I looked at the watch in my palm.
"Then you should have treated me like family.""
Nobody spoke.
A few minutes later, Arthur's attorney arrived.
Samuel Harrison was nearly eighty, with a silver cane and a leather briefcase that looked older than I was.
He greeted my grandfather, then turned toward me.
"Nia Carter?""
"Yes.""
He smiled sadly.
"I've waited a long time to meet with you.""
He placed his briefcase on the table and opened it.
Inside were several folders, a sealed flash drive, and a photograph of my father.
"Your father left me instructions to deliver these documents personally. He also left something for you to watch.""
I frowned.
"Watch?""
Samuel nodded.
"A video recording.""
My heart skipped.
"Of my father?""
"Yes. He recorded it the evening before his accident.""
Samuel removed a small laptop from his briefcase.
Vanessa suddenly stood.
"No.""
Everyone turned.
She shook her head violently.
"Samuel, you can't show her that.""
The old attorney looked at her.
"Why not?""
Vanessa's voice broke.
"Because he'll tell her everything.""
Samuel inserted the flash drive.
The screen flickered.
A familiar face appeared.
My father.
He was sitting in his private office, wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
He looked tired.
But he was alive.
I pressed my hand against my mouth.
"Hi, sweetheart," he said on the screen.
Tears spilled down my cheeks.
Then he leaned closer to the camera.
"If you're watching this, Nia, it means I wasn't able to protect you myself.""
He paused.
His eyes moved toward someone outside the frame.
Then he spoke again.
"And there's something you need to know about the night of the accident.""
The recording suddenly stopped.
Samuel frowned.
"That's strange.""
He pressed play again.
The same scene appeared.
Then the screen went black.
A message flashed across it.
*FILE DAMAGED — REMAINING FOOTAGE UNAVAILABLE.*
I looked at Samuel.
"Can you recover it?""
He nodded slowly.
"I believe so.""
Then he opened the final folder.
Inside was a police report.
A photograph of my father's damaged car.
And a handwritten note.
Samuel read it aloud.
"Daniel instructed me to give this to Nia only after the video had been recovered.""
I looked at the note.
Three words were written across the bottom.
*ASK ABOUT THE PASSENGER.*
My blood ran cold.
I had been in that car with my father.
I remembered the crash.
I remembered waking up in the hospital.
But the police report had always listed me as the only passenger.
I looked at Samuel.
"What passenger?""
He slowly closed the folder.
Then he glanced toward Vanessa.
May you like
And the expression on his face told me that the answer was going to change everything.
"Your father wasn't driving alone that night, Nia.""
