Chapter 3 - THE SIGNATURE THAT COULDN'T EXIST
Daniel barely slept.
At six the next morning, he and Emily arrived at Evelyn Shaw's law office in downtown Manhattan. Marcus followed in a separate vehicle, while two members of Daniel's security team remained outside.
Evelyn, a silver-haired attorney in her late sixties, greeted them with a locked briefcase.
"I've known your father for thirty years," she said. "He trusted very few people. When he established the trust, he gave me strict instructions never to release the original documents to your mother."
"Then how could she produce my signature?" Daniel asked.
Evelyn opened the case.
Inside lay a six-page agreement bearing Daniel's name.
The signature looked authentic.
Emily leaned forward.
"Daniel, you signed something similar when we bought our first apartment."
He looked at her sharply.
"That was three years ago."
"Could someone have copied it?"
Evelyn nodded.
"Possibly. But we need to establish when this document was created and whether the signature was witnessed properly."
Daniel examined the final page.
The agreement claimed he'd voluntarily transferred his beneficial interest to a holding company controlled by Margaret.
The date was five months before his father's death.
"I was in Singapore that week," Daniel said. "I never saw this."
Evelyn's expression tightened.
"Your travel records may prove that. So may the company's electronic records."
Daniel turned to Marcus.
"Get me every travel document from that period."
"Already working on it."
Emily studied the agreement.
"There's a name here. Northbridge Holdings. Who owns it?"
Evelyn hesitated.
"According to the filing, your mother does."
"According to the filing?" Emily repeated.
"The company has a nominee director. Its true beneficial ownership has never been independently verified."
Daniel's phone vibrated.
A message had arrived from Victoria.
Mother says you stole private family documents. Come home before this becomes public.
He showed Emily.
"She wants us back at the mansion."
"No," Emily replied. "She wants you back where she can control the story."
Daniel almost smiled.
"You're learning how my family operates."
"I'm trying to survive it."
The honesty in her answer silenced him.
He took her hand.
"You shouldn't have to."
Before either could say more, Evelyn's assistant entered with a courier package. There was no return address, only Daniel's name written in black ink.
Inside lay a photograph.
It showed Richard Whitmore standing outside a small brick building, one arm around a young woman whose face was partly hidden.
On the back, someone had written:
ASK YOUR MOTHER WHO YOUR FATHER WAS TRYING TO PROTECT.
Daniel stared at the photograph.
"That's not possible."
Emily looked between him and Evelyn.
"Who is the woman?"
Evelyn's expression changed.
"I don't know her name. But I recognize the building."
She turned the photograph over again.
"Your father rented an office there for six months. He told me it was for a confidential charitable project."
"Why didn't you mention it?"
"Because I believed the project had ended when he died."
Daniel stood.
"Where is it?"
"An old property in Queens. The building has since changed owners."
Marcus called from the doorway.
"Sir, we have a problem."
Daniel turned.
"What's happened?"
"Someone filed an emergency petition this morning seeking to freeze your voting rights in Whitmore Industries. The petition claims you're mentally unstable and being manipulated by your wife."
Emily went still.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Who signed the supporting declaration?"
Marcus looked down at his tablet.
"Your mother."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Daniel's phone rang again.
This time it was Victoria.
He answered on speaker.
Her voice shook.
"Daniel, please listen. Mother says you're going to lose the company unless you come back and sign something."
"What does she want me to sign?"
Victoria swallowed.
"She says it's the only way to protect the family."
"Victoria, what is it?"
A long silence followed.
Then she whispered, "A document declaring your marriage fraudulent."
The call abruptly ended.
Daniel stared at the phone.
Emily's hand slipped from his.
He turned toward her.
"Don't believe a word she says."
But Emily wasn't looking at him.
She was staring at the photograph of Richard and the unidentified woman.
Because she'd seen that woman's face before.
Not in person.
In a faded picture hidden inside Clara's envelope.
May you like
And beneath the woman's image, someone had written two words:
YOUR SISTER.
