Chapter 3: The Date on the Page
My husband answered and put the call on speaker.
“Grace, tell me exactly what you found.”
A woman’s voice came through clearly.
“Six original transfer forms, all signed in blue ink.
I also found the notarized ownership declaration.”
Marcus reached for the phone.
“This is confidential company material.”
My husband moved it beyond his reach.
“You lost the right to complain about confidentiality when you put my wife’s name on it.”
Grace continued.
“A courier is bringing the documents to the hotel.
He’ll arrive in five minutes.”
“You had no authority to remove them,” Marcus said.
“The board’s audit committee gave me written authority,” Grace replied.
“Would you like me to read the resolution aloud?”
Marcus said nothing.
I took my daughter from my husband’s arms and carried her to my cousin.
“Could you keep Lily with you for a few minutes?”
“Of course,” she said.
“Come on, sweetheart.
Let’s find another piece of cake.”
Marcus watched Lily leave.
“So her name is Lily.”
“You don’t get to speak about my daughter.”
His mouth tightened.
“You always were dramatic.”
My husband stepped between us.
“Her name is not relevant to your audit.”
“It may be more relevant than you think.”
Chloe turned sharply.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Marcus looked at her.
“It means you should stop talking.”
A hotel employee opened the ballroom doors, and Grace entered carrying a sealed document case.
She was in her sixties, silver-haired, and completely unmoved by the attention around her.
“Mr.
Bennett,” she said.
“I suggest we use a private room.”
“No,” Marcus replied.
“I suggest you hand those documents to my attorney.”
Grace set the case on a nearby table.
“Your attorney may inspect them after the board receives copies.”
I stood across from Marcus.
“Open it.”
Grace broke the seal and removed six forms.
My name appeared at the bottom of each one.
Chloe stared at the pages.
“I’ve never seen those.”
Grace placed a seventh document beside them.
“This declares that Marcus’s former wife remained a silent beneficial owner after the divorce.”
“That is a lie,” I said.
Marcus folded his arms.
“You signed it.”
“I signed away every interest in your company five years ago.”
“And perhaps you changed your mind.”
My husband pointed to the transfer forms.
“Why would she secretly return as an owner, approve two million dollars in payments, and receive none of it?”
“That question should be directed to her.”
I leaned toward Marcus.
“Look at me and say you believe I signed these.”
He held my gaze for one second, then looked down.
Chloe picked up one of the forms.
Her thumb covered the signature, but not before I noticed the unusual curve on the final letter.
“Move your hand,” I said.
“What?”
“Move it.”
She dropped the page as if it had burned her.
Grace slid a clear evidence sleeve over it.
“The handwriting specialist will compare the signatures.
Until then, no one touches them.”
I looked at Chloe’s place card on the table.
She had written a note beneath her name for the waiter: NO SHELLFISH.
The final letter in her handwriting curved in exactly the same way.
“Grace, take that card too.”
Chloe’s chair scraped backward.
“You cannot be serious.”
“I watched you imitate my signature on birthday cards when Marcus and I were married.
You called it a party trick.”
“That was years ago!”
Marcus grabbed her wrist.
“Stop explaining.”
She pulled free.
“Don’t touch me.”
Grace turned the ownership declaration over.
“There is something else.
This was supposedly notarized by Eleanor Hale.”
Marcus’s mother.
I checked the date and felt the room tilt beneath me.
My husband caught my elbow.
“What is it?”
“That date,” I said.
“I couldn’t have signed anything that day.”
Marcus forced a laugh.
“And why not?”
“Because I was in the hospital giving birth to Lily.”
A voice came from the doorway behind us.
May you like
“I never notarized that document,” Eleanor said.
“But I know who stole my seal.”
