Chapter 4 - THE HUSBAND WHO SIGNED AWAY EVERYTHING
I read the document three times.
Oliver's signature was unmistakable.
“Daniel,” I whispered, “is this authentic?”
“The signature appears genuine. We're still verifying the circumstances.”
I turned toward my husband.
“Why did you sign this?”
Oliver stared at the paper.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Your name is right here.”
Camila rushed between us.
“Give me that.”
I pulled the document away.
“Don't touch it.”
Her voice dropped.
“Elizabeth, you need to understand that this is a private family matter.”
“A forged corporate resolution involving billions of dollars is not a family matter.”
Oliver looked frightened.
“Mom, you told me it was an investment agreement.”
“What?”
He turned toward me.
“She said the paperwork was for a temporary financial arrangement. She told me Hartford was considering a partnership and needed a personal guarantee.”
“Did you read it?”
“I trusted her.”
I stared at him.
The words were almost identical to the excuse I had made for myself when I married him.
Camila's face twisted.
“Oliver, stop talking.”
“No. You said this was legitimate.”
She grabbed his sleeve.
“Not another word.”
I turned toward Daniel.
“Get the complete original transaction file.”
He nodded.
Camila suddenly raised her voice.
“This is absurd! Elizabeth is using her father's influence to destroy our family because I gave her divorce papers!”
Several guests were listening.
She was trying to turn the situation around.
I understood her strategy. If she could make me look vindictive, she could present herself as the victim of a wealthy daughter-in-law seeking revenge.
But I had no intention of playing her game.
“Camila, you gave me divorce papers in front of three hundred people. I haven't asked for anything except the truth.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Truth? You lied about who you were from the moment you met Oliver.”
“That is true. I concealed my family's wealth. But I never stole money, forged documents, or pretended to own another person's company.”
Her expression darkened.
“Your father won't protect you forever.”
“My father doesn't need to protect me from you.”
I turned away.
Oliver followed me into the hallway.
“Elizabeth, wait!”
I stopped beside a marble column.
“What?”
“Please. Let me explain.”
“You signed the document.”
“I didn't know what it was.”
“You were thirty-two years old when you signed it. You were old enough to marry me. Old enough to let your mother humiliate me. Surely you were old enough to read a contract.”
He looked down.
“I know I failed you.”
“You didn't fail me once, Oliver. You failed me every time you watched her hurt me and chose your comfort over my dignity.”
He reached for my hand.
I stepped back.
“Don't.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I thought we were going to have a future.”
“So did I.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he said something that changed everything.
“Elizabeth, there is something you don't know about your father.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Your father didn't just reject the Thompson acquisition. He met my mother privately three weeks ago.”
I stared at him.
“That's impossible.”
“I saw them together.”
“Where?”
“At the Thompson Group headquarters.”
“What were they discussing?”
Oliver hesitated.
Then he whispered:
“Your marriage.”
Before I could ask another question, Daniel appeared at the end of the hallway.
“Elizabeth, we have a serious problem.”
He held up his phone.
“Your father has just been informed about the gala. He wants you to leave immediately.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked toward the ballroom.
“Because someone has entered his private office at Hartford Technologies.”
My blood turned cold.
“Who?”
Daniel showed me a security photograph.
The image was blurry, but the person standing beside my father's desk was unmistakable.
May you like
It was Oliver.
And the timestamp showed that he had been there twenty minutes earlier.
