Chapter 4: The Signature of a Dead Woman
For three seconds, Ethan couldn't hear anything.
Not the guests whispering behind him. Not the wedding coordinator asking people to remain calm. Not even Victoria, who had begun arguing with her father near the altar.
He could only hear Daniel Brooks's final sentence.
“Your late mother's signature is on the original, too.””
Ethan stared at the attorney.
“My mother has been dead for three years.””
Daniel nodded slowly.
“I'm aware of that.””
“Then explain how she signed a document transferring my assets.””
“I intend to. But I would strongly advise you not to discuss the contents of this agreement in front of several hundred guests.””
Ethan held up the document.
“Someone just accused my dead mother of helping steal my inheritance. I think the guests have already heard enough to understand why I'm asking questions.””
A murmur swept through the wedding hall.
Victoria stepped forward, her wedding dress dragging across the floor.
“Ethan, please. This man is twisting everything. You don't know who he is.””
Daniel turned toward her.
“Miss Hayes, you know exactly who I am.””
Victoria's face tightened.
“I'm not discussing this with you.””
“You signed the preliminary agreement in my office on August fourteenth.””
“I signed nothing.””
Daniel opened his leather briefcase.
“Would you like me to retrieve the original?””
Victoria's eyes darted toward Gregory.
Her father immediately moved between them.
“This is absurd,” Gregory announced.
“We are standing at a wedding, not a courtroom. Mr. Brooks, if you have a professional disagreement with my daughter, you can address it through the proper channels.””
Daniel didn't raise his voice.
“Mr. Hayes, your company received eight million four hundred thousand dollars from Carter Holdings three weeks ago. The payment was authorized under a transaction that does not appear to have been approved by the company's board.””
Gregory's face darkened.
“That is a confidential business matter.””
“Then you should have kept it confidential by not discussing it with the bride's friends.””
Victoria went rigid.
Ethan turned toward her.
“What does that mean?””
She shook her head quickly.
“Nothing. He's trying to make you suspicious of me.””
Daniel removed a second sheet of paper from his briefcase.
“This is a copy of an email sent from Victoria's personal account to Madison Blake. The subject line reads, 'After the wedding.''”
Madison covered her mouth.
Victoria lunged toward the document.
“Give me that!””
Daniel stepped back.
“Please don't touch my files.””
“Those are private emails!””
“And this is a potential financial fraud investigation.””
The hall fell silent.
Ethan could feel hundreds of eyes on him, but he barely noticed them.
He looked at Daniel.
“Read it.””
“Ethan,” Richard warned.
Ethan turned to his father.
“You've had plenty of opportunities to explain. You chose not to. So unless you're finally ready to tell me the truth, please stop telling me what to do.””
Richard's face tightened.
For a moment, Ethan saw the man who had taught him to ride a bicycle, who had waited outside his school during thunderstorms, who had sat beside his hospital bed when he broke his arm at twelve.
Then he saw the man who had stood in a corridor and refused to explain why Victoria had visited his office.
“Read it,” Ethan repeated.
Daniel unfolded the paper.
“Victoria wrote: 'Once the ceremony is complete, the first transfer becomes effective. Richard says Ethan won't question the paperwork because he trusts his family. By the time he realizes what happened, everything will be protected.''”
A collective gasp rose from the guests.
Ethan looked at his father.
Richard didn't deny it.
That silence hurt more than the words themselves.
Victoria stepped toward Ethan, her face wet with tears.
“Please listen to me. I was scared. My father told me there were business complications, and I was trying to protect my family.””
“By stealing mine?””
“I never wanted to hurt you.””
“You told Madison you never loved me.””
“I was angry!””
“You told her you wanted my money.””
“Because I was frightened!””
Ethan stared at her.
“Of what?””
Victoria opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then Gregory seized the opportunity.
“Ethan, my daughter has been under tremendous pressure. There are circumstances you don't understand.””
“Then explain them.””
Gregory glanced at Daniel.
“This is not the place.””
Ethan gave a short, humorless laugh.
“That's what everyone keeps saying. Funny how nobody has a problem making decisions about my life in private.””
He turned to Daniel.
“What was the original transfer supposed to accomplish?””
Daniel hesitated.
“The agreement would have given a company controlled by the Hayes family a substantial interest in a portfolio of properties owned by a Carter Holdings subsidiary.””
“How substantial?””
“Thirty percent.””
Ethan felt the floor shift beneath him.
Thirty percent of the portfolio represented hundreds of millions of dollars.
“And my mother's signature?””
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“Your mother established a family trust before her death. Certain assets could be transferred only with the approval of the trust's appointed representative.””
“Who is that?””
Daniel looked at Richard.
“Your father.””
Ethan slowly turned.
Richard looked older than he had an hour earlier.
“Dad?””
Richard rubbed his face.
“It's complicated.””
“Then simplify it.””
“Your mother created the trust to protect the family assets. After she died, I became responsible for administering it.””
“And you signed this agreement?””
“I signed a preliminary authorization.””
“Using my mother's signature?””
“No.”” Richard's voice sharpened.
“I did not forge your mother's signature.””
Daniel interjected carefully.
“The original trust document contains her signature. The transfer agreement contains a signature that appears to be hers, but I have not authenticated it.””
Ethan looked down at the page.
The signature was elegant, with a distinctive flourish beneath the final letter of his mother's name.
He knew that signature.
He had seen it on birthday cards, handwritten recipes, and the notes she used to leave beside his breakfast.
But something about the document bothered him.
His mother had always written her surname with a long, sweeping final stroke.
The signature on this page ended abruptly.
“Who witnessed the original?”” Ethan asked.
Daniel checked the document.
“Your father and a notary.””
“Who?””
“Margaret Ellis.””
Ethan frowned.
He knew that name.
Margaret Ellis had been his mother's personal attorney for nearly fifteen years. She had also been the person who handled the family trust after his mother's death.
“Where is she now?””
“Retired,” Daniel replied.
“She moved to Connecticut last year.””
“Has she seen this document?””
“Not to my knowledge.””
Ethan looked at Richard.
“Why did you need Victoria involved?””
Richard's eyes moved toward Gregory.
Gregory immediately interrupted.
“Because the Hayes family was prepared to invest in the property portfolio. The arrangement was legitimate. The funds were part of a commercial transaction.””
“Then why did the agreement need to become effective at my wedding?””
Gregory's jaw tightened.
“It was a convenient date.””
“Convenient for whom?””
Neither man answered.
Then Emily appeared beside Ethan, holding her phone.
“Ethan, you need to see this.””
She showed him a photograph.
It was a picture of a document displayed on her screen, apparently taken earlier that morning. The image showed a page with a handwritten note at the bottom.
Ethan leaned closer.
The note read:
If Ethan asks questions, tell him the trust requires his consent. Do not mention the side agreement.
Below it was Richard's signature.
Ethan felt something inside him go cold.
“Where did you get this?””
Emily swallowed.
“It was sent to me anonymously five minutes ago. There was a second message, too.””
“What did it say?””
She turned the phone toward him.
Your brother is not the first person Victoria has tried to marry for money.
Ethan stared at the words.
Then he looked at Victoria.
She had stopped crying.
Her face had become unnaturally still.
“Who sent that?”” she demanded.
Emily pulled her phone away.
“Why? Does it sound familiar?””
Victoria turned toward Gregory.
“Dad, we need to leave.””
Gregory seized her arm.
“You're not going anywhere until we resolve this.””
She stared at him in disbelief.
“Excuse me?””
“You heard me.””
For the first time, father and daughter appeared to be on opposite sides.
Ethan watched them carefully.
Something was wrong with their reaction. Gregory seemed furious that the agreement had been exposed, but Victoria looked afraid of something else entirely.
Daniel closed his briefcase.
“Mr. Carter, I strongly recommend that you preserve all documents and avoid signing anything else. I will contact the relevant parties to arrange an independent review.””
Ethan nodded.
“Do that.””
Then he faced his father.
“Until we know the truth, you have no authority to make decisions on my behalf.””
Richard's expression hardened.
“You cannot simply remove me from the trust.””
“I'm not removing you from anything. I'm telling you that I won't trust your word until I know what you've done.””
The distinction seemed to strike Richard harder than an accusation.
He took a slow breath.
“Ethan, your mother would never have wanted us fighting like this.””
Ethan's eyes burned.
“Don't use Mom to make me feel guilty.””
Richard looked away.
That was when Victoria spoke again.
“You're all making a terrible mistake.””
Ethan turned.
She lifted her chin, recovering some of her old confidence.
“You think this makes you the hero? You think canceling our wedding means you've won?””
“I don't think anything has been won.””
“Good. Because you have no idea what your father agreed to.””
Richard's head snapped toward her.
“Victoria, stop talking.””
She laughed bitterly.
“Why? You're the one who promised everything would be taken care of.””
The guests fell silent again.
Ethan took a step toward her.
“What did my father promise you?””
Victoria looked at him, then at Gregory.
Her father shook his head once.
It was a small movement.
But Ethan saw it.
So did Victoria.
She swallowed.
“Ask him what happens if the transfer isn't completed by midnight.””
Richard went completely still.
Ethan's stomach tightened.
“What happens at midnight?””
Victoria said nothing.
Gregory's expression had changed from anger to something resembling panic.
Daniel opened his briefcase again.
“Mr. Carter,” he said quietly, “I think we need to discuss a second agreement.””
Ethan looked at the attorney.
“What second agreement?””
Daniel removed a sealed envelope.
It bore the logo of Carter Holdings.
On the front, in his father's unmistakable handwriting, were four words.
*For Ethan, if exposed.*
Ethan took the envelope.
His hands were steady, but his heart was pounding.
He broke the seal.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
The first sentence made his blood run cold.
If the marriage fails to occur, the entire Carter family estate may be placed under emergency administration, effective at midnight.
Beneath it was a list of names.
Richard Carter.
Gregory Hayes.
Victoria Hayes.
And, at the bottom, a name Ethan had not expected to see.
His own.
May you like
Because the final signature authorizing the arrangement appeared to belong to Ethan Carter.
And if the signature was genuine, he had apparently agreed to the very scheme he was trying to stop.
