Chapter 3 - The Signature
“Your mother.”
The words landed like a stone.
Lena looked at Susan.
Susan's face had gone completely still.
“I never signed that.”
Robert immediately turned toward her.
“You did.”
“No.”
“You told me you had.”
“I said I would.”
“You said you handled it.”
“I never signed anything.”
Daniel stepped into the dining room.
“Then we have a serious problem.”
Lena looked at him.
“What problem?”
Daniel placed the folder on the table.
“The transfer authorization contains a signature that appears to belong to Lena.”
Lena stared at the page.
“It isn't mine.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because I have your original signature from the account opening.”
Daniel pulled another document from the folder.
He placed both pages side by side.
The differences were subtle.
But they were there.
Lena's actual signature curved sharply at the end.
The other one did not.
Robert leaned over the table.
“Anyone could have copied it.”
Daniel nodded.
“That's what we need to determine.”
Susan suddenly backed away.
“I don't know anything about this.”
Lena looked at her.
“Mom.”
“I don't.”
“Then why did Dad say you signed it?”
“I don't know.”
Robert's face reddened.
“You told me you took care of the paperwork.”
“I told you I would.”
“You knew the money was gone.”
Susan's eyes flashed.
“And you knew where it went.”
Lena stepped between them.
“Where did it go?”
Neither answered.
Daniel looked toward Robert.
“Mr. Carter, if that transfer was unauthorized, Lena has the right to know where the funds went.”
Robert shook his head.
“This is a family matter.”
“No.”
Daniel's voice was firm.
“It stopped being a family matter when someone used her identity.”
Lena picked up the document.
There was a company name beneath the signature.
Carter Holdings.
She recognized it.
Her father's company.
She had heard about it all her life.
Robert had always told her that the company was separate from the family.
Separate accounts.
Separate responsibilities.
Separate ownership.
But the transfer showed something different.
The money from Lena's account had gone into Carter Holdings.
Then it had moved again.
And again.
Until the trail disappeared.
Lena looked at Robert.
“You put my money into your company.”
“It was temporary.”
“Where is it now?”
Robert didn't answer.
“Where is it?”
“I don't have it.”
“Then who does?”
Robert looked toward the window.
Lena followed his gaze.
The house suddenly felt unfamiliar.
The furniture.
The photographs.
The expensive paintings her mother had proudly displayed.
The renovated kitchen.
The new car outside.
For the first time, Lena wondered how much of their life had been built with money that wasn't theirs.
Daniel closed the folder.
“I think you should get independent legal advice before you sign anything.”
Robert immediately snapped.
“She doesn't need a lawyer.”
Lena looked at him.
“That sounds familiar.”
Robert's face tightened.
Daniel handed her a card.
“Call me tomorrow.”
Robert stepped forward.
“You're not leaving with those documents.”
Lena held them against her chest.
“You already took enough from me.”
She walked toward the door.
Then Susan said something that stopped her.
“Lena.”
She turned.
Her mother was crying.
Not dramatically.
Not loudly.
Just silently.
“Your grandfather didn't leave you the money because he trusted us.”
Lena stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
Susan wiped her cheek.
“He knew your father would try to take it.”
Robert spun toward her.
“Stop.”
Susan looked at him.
“You told me he didn't know.”
“He didn't.”
“He did.”
Lena felt her heartbeat accelerate.
“What did Grandpa know?”
Susan looked at her daughter.
Then she whispered:
“He knew what your father had already done.”
Lena froze.
“What had he done?”
Susan opened her mouth.
But Robert moved first.
He grabbed the old framed photograph from the wall and smashed it against the floor.
The glass shattered.
Inside the frame was a photograph of Lena's grandfather.
And behind it was a folded letter.
Robert stared at it.
Lena stared at him.
Neither moved.
Then Lena slowly bent down and picked up the letter.
Her grandfather's handwriting was on the front.
May you like
To Lena.
Open only when you're ready to know why I stopped trusting your father.
