Chapter 4: The Signature That Wasn't Mine
For three seconds, I couldn't speak.
Daniel's voice came through the phone, calm and almost amused.
“Marcus, you really should have stayed in Denver another two days.””
I stared at the forged signature on my screen.
“What did you do?””
“Nothing you wouldn't have done yourself if you understood the situation.””
“Someone forged my signature.””
“Careful with that word.””
I looked at Maya. She was standing beside the workbench, holding the damaged remains of Nova against her chest.
Vanessa had gone completely pale.
“Daniel, I'm giving you one chance. Explain the bank authorization.””
He sighed.
“You've been a difficult partner lately. The company needed someone willing to make decisions.””
“Without telling me?””
“You were always traveling. Someone had to keep things running.””
“By stealing my identity?””
Daniel laughed quietly.
“Let's meet tomorrow. We'll discuss everything.””
“No. We'll discuss it now.””
His voice suddenly hardened.
“Then enjoy your last night pretending you're in control.””
The call ended.
I lowered the phone.
Maya approached me.
“Dad, is he going to take our money?””
I crouched in front of her.
“Not if I can stop him.””
“Promise?””
I looked into her eyes.
“I promise I'll do everything I can to protect you.””
Behind us, Vanessa began picking up the broken glass.
Her hands were shaking.
“Marcus,” she whispered, “there's something else.””
I stood.
“What?””
She placed the pieces of glass on the workbench.
“Daniel gave me a document to sign last month.””
“What document?””
“He said it was an emergency authorization. Something that would allow him to manage the household accounts if anything happened to you.””
I stared at her.
“And you signed it?””
She nodded.
“Did you read it?””
“I trusted him.””
“You trusted him enough to sign a document without reading it?””
Her eyes filled.
“He said you were going to lose the business. He said creditors could come after the house. I was scared.””
I rubbed my forehead.
“Where is the document?””
“In my bedroom. In the bottom drawer of my dressing table.””
I looked toward Maya.
“Stay here. Don't touch anything on the computer.””
Vanessa followed me into the hallway.
For the first time since I had returned, she wasn't walking ahead of me.
She was following.
In our bedroom, she opened the drawer and removed a thick white envelope.
I took it.
The first page looked ordinary.
A legal authorization.
The second page was different.
It contained language about transferring certain financial interests to a third party.
The third page listed the name of a company I had never heard of.
Northbridge Holdings LLC.
I read the registered address twice.
It was a mailbox in Delaware.
“Who owns this company?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
I turned to the final page.
There it was.
Her signature.
And beneath it, a witness signature.
Peter Collins.
My accountant.
I photographed every page and sent them to Robert.
Then I returned to the garage.
Maya was sitting at the workbench, carefully cleaning ash from Nova's protective casing.
She looked up when I entered.
“Can we fix her?””
I studied the damaged frame.
“Can we?””
Maya nodded.
“Not completely. But maybe I can rebuild the main control unit.””
“Then we'll rebuild it.””
She smiled faintly.
It was the first time I had seen even a hint of happiness since coming home.
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
“Marcus, I need to talk to Maya.””
Maya immediately lowered her eyes.
I noticed.
“About what?””
“I'm her mother.””
“That doesn't answer my question.””
Vanessa took a breath.
“I want to apologize.””
Maya continued cleaning the metal casing.
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Sweetheart, I know you're upset, but I never wanted things to go this far.””
Maya stopped.
“You watched Brielle pour lighter fluid on Nova.””
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“I didn't think she would actually set it on fire.””
“You gave her the lighter.””
“I was angry.””
“You told her to destroy my work.””
Vanessa looked toward me.
“Marcus, please.””
I didn't intervene.
Maya deserved to speak.
“You told me Dad didn't care about me,” she continued.
“You said he only sent money because he felt guilty.””
Vanessa looked down.
“You told me nobody would believe me if I complained.””
“I was trying to keep the peace.””
“No,” Maya whispered.
“You were trying to keep me quiet.””
The words landed harder than any accusation I could have made.
Vanessa covered her face.
Then my phone rang.
Robert.
I answered immediately.
“Tell me you found something.””
“I did,” he said.
“The document your wife signed is potentially serious. I need you to send me the original, not just photographs.””
“Can I stop the bank authorization?””
“I'm already preparing a fraud notification. But Marcus, there's another problem.””
“What?””
“Your business registration records show that a change of ownership was submitted yesterday.””
My stomach dropped.
“Submitted by whom?””
“Daniel.””
“Can he do that?””
“Not lawfully without the required authorization. But the filing has already triggered a review.””
I looked at Maya.
“What does that mean?””
“It means we need to act quickly. There's also a scheduled meeting tomorrow morning with the bank's fraud department.””
“I'll be there.””
“Bring every original document you have.””
I ended the call.
Vanessa was staring at me.
“What happened?””
“Daniel is trying to take the company.””
She sank onto the chair.
I looked at her.
“Did you know about this?””
She shook her head.
“I swear I didn't.””
I wanted to believe her.
But believing people had become an expensive habit.
I picked up the damaged robot.
“Tomorrow, we're going to find out exactly what Daniel has done.””
Maya stood.
“Can I come?””
“No. You have school.””
“Dad, Nova has the recordings. They can't say I made them up.””
I hesitated.
She continued.
“I want people to know what happened.””
I knelt beside her.
“Then we'll make sure they hear the truth. But you don't have to fight every battle yourself.””
She nodded.
At that moment, a notification appeared on the laptop.
A new file had been recovered from Nova's damaged memory card.
Maya leaned toward the screen.
“I didn't open that one.””
The filename was:
*PROJECT_ORIGINAL_OWNER_FINAL.mp4*
She clicked it.
The screen flickered.
A video began.
It showed Daniel sitting at our kitchen table.
Across from him was Brielle.
He slid a folder toward her.
“Your mother says you've been practicing the presentation,” he said.
Brielle nodded.
Daniel smiled.
“Good. Because tomorrow, you're going to tell the judges something very important.””
He leaned forward.
“You're going to tell them you built Nova yourself.””
Then he opened the folder.
Inside was a photograph of a document.
A document bearing my name.
And underneath it was a signature authorizing Daniel to use my daughter's invention as collateral for a business loan.
I stared at the screen.
Maya whispered:
“Dad, why would anyone use a robot as collateral?””
I didn't answer.
Because I had just realized that Daniel wasn't simply trying to steal our money.
May you like
He was using my daughter's invention to accomplish something much bigger.
And the next morning, I intended to find out exactly what.
