Chapter 4 - THE SEALED ENVELOPEWesley entered the dining room shouting.
He had not changed from the previous night. His dinner jacket was wrinkled, his tie hung loose and anger had replaced the polished confidence from the banquet photographs.
Serena followed him, still wearing diamond earrings from the event.
“Mom, did you cut off all our money?”
Eleanor gave the answer she had prepared.
“You said I wasn’t invited. Neither is my money.”
Serena found the list of canceled payments.
“You can’t cancel everything!”
“I already did.”
Wesley paced around the table.
“You embarrassed us in front of everyone. The hotel tried to charge the final dinner balance this morning. The payment was declined.”
“Then pay it yourself.”
“You know I can’t access that amount on a weekend.”
“You told the guests you were the owner of Vale Heritage. An owner should be able to pay for his own dinner.”
Wesley stopped.
“This is because you weren’t invited?”
“No. That was simply the final answer to a question I had been asking for years.”
“What question?”
“Whether you loved me or merely required me.”
Serena rolled her eyes.
“This is emotional manipulation.”
Eleanor turned to her.
“Your condominium belongs to my trust. You have thirty days to arrange a lease at market value or move your mother elsewhere.”
Serena’s face went white.
“You wouldn’t.”
“The notice has already been prepared.”
Wesley slammed his hand against the table.
“Enough. Dad created those accounts for me.”
“No. Your father left assets to a trust that I control.”
“You gave me ownership of the company four years ago.”
Claire stepped forward.
“That isn’t why I came here.”
She placed the sealed envelope in front of Wesley.
Inside was the transfer agreement obtained from one of the lenders.
The signature appeared to be Eleanor’s.
But it was not.
Wesley stared at the forensic report while Serena read over his shoulder.
“This signature isn’t yours?” Wesley asked.
“No,” Eleanor replied.
Serena looked at her husband.
“Whose is it?”
Wesley did not answer.
Eleanor opened another folder.
“Four years ago, I was hospitalized for nine days after surgery.”
Wesley’s eyes moved toward the door.
“During that period, you visited my office twice.”
“I visited you.”
“You visited the hospital once. You visited my office twice.”
Claire placed security logs on the table.
“Your access card was recorded after business hours,” she said.
Wesley tried to laugh.
“That proves nothing.”
Eleanor removed a small USB drive.
“You opened the locked cabinet behind Henry’s desk.”
The remaining color left Wesley’s face.
“There was no camera in that office.”
“Not one you knew about.”
Serena slowly moved away from him.
Eleanor continued.
“You removed the ownership documents and photographed my signature. Then you practiced it.”
“That is insane.”
“You used the company conference room to sign the transfer agreement.”
“Prove it.”
Eleanor pressed the USB drive into a laptop.
The screen displayed a grainy security recording.
Wesley appeared alone at a conference table, surrounded by sheets of paper.
He repeatedly wrote the same name.
Eleanor Vale.
Then he signed the transfer agreement.
No one spoke as the recording continued.
When it ended, Wesley stared at the dark screen.
Claire folded her hands.
“You forged the signature, misrepresented ownership and used company assets to secure private loans.”
Wesley turned toward his mother.
“Mom, listen to me.”
“I have been listening to you for eleven years.”
“You don’t understand. I did it to protect the company.”
“You borrowed against the company to finance your lifestyle.”
“I was going to repay everything.”
“With whose money?”
Wesley had no answer.
Serena looked at the loan documents.
“How much?”
Martin, the accountant, spoke from the end of the table.
“With interest and penalties, just over eight million dollars.”
Serena gripped the chair.
“You told me the company was worth hundreds of millions.”
“It is.”
May you like
Eleanor corrected him.
“It was. Before you placed six of its properties at risk.”
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