Chapter 6 - THE DEAL SIGNED IN HER NAME
Grant planned to announce the sale at the charity gala.
The event had been presented publicly as a celebration of the Bellamy Foundation’s twentieth anniversary. In reality, Grant intended to use the gathering to secure support from board members, investors, and political allies.
The buyer was a private investment group registered in three countries.
Northstar Global Partners.
The proposed sale valued Bellamy Holdings at nearly two billion dollars less than its estimated market value.
Grant and Victor would receive enormous consulting payments after the transaction.
Hundreds of employees would lose their jobs.
Several Bellamy properties, including the mansion and the foundation headquarters, would be sold separately.
Seraphina’s signature appeared on the preliminary approval.
It was another forgery.
“They no longer care whether the signatures survive careful examination,” Mara said. “They only need the transaction to close before your chairmanship activates.”
“The gala is two days before the anniversary of my father’s death.”
“Yes.”
“They intend to sell the company and transfer the assets before I gain control.”
Marcus placed the red ledger inside a secure case.
“With this agreement, Adrian could stop the sale by asserting Evelyn’s family claim.”
“Why hasn’t he done it?”
No one answered.
Seraphina looked toward Delaney.
“You knew Adrian was connected to Evelyn. You knew about the original agreement. Why did you bring us to Vermont instead of going to him?”
“Because I do not know whose side Adrian is on.”
“He has hosted every Bellamy gala for twelve years.”
“He was also the person who introduced Grant to Victor Hale.”
The room went silent.
They had returned to Mara’s law office after leaving Vermont. Theo slept on a sofa in the adjoining room while two security officers guarded the entrance.
Seraphina stared at Adrian’s photograph.
“Did Adrian introduce Grant to me?”
“No,” Delaney said. “But he made sure Grant attended the charity auction where you met.”
“So Grant was placed near me.”
“Yes.”
“By Adrian?”
“Possibly.”
Seraphina fought to control her anger.
“Tell me everything.”
Delaney removed a flash drive from her handbag.
“For three years, I managed confidential communications between Grant, Victor, and Northstar. I prepared statements, destroyed records, and helped discredit anyone who questioned them.”
“You discredited me.”
“Yes.”
“You leaked my medical records.”
Delaney looked down.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Grant promised me a position after the sale.”
“And a life with him?”
Delaney’s silence answered the question.
Seraphina felt no jealousy.
Only sadness.
Delaney had believed the same promises Grant once made to her.
“What changed?” Seraphina asked.
“I found a transfer schedule listing everyone who would be paid after the sale.”
“Your name was missing.”
“My name was under liabilities.”
Mara frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Grant planned to blame the forged documents and media campaign on me. After the transaction, I would be arrested while he claimed ignorance.”
Seraphina studied her.
“You are helping me because he betrayed you.”
“I am helping you because I finally understand that betrayal is the only thing he does honestly.”
The flash drive contained emails, draft contracts, recordings, and payment instructions.
It also contained a video of Grant and Victor discussing Seraphina.
Grant’s voice was clear.
“She will sign whatever I place in front of her.”
Victor laughed.
“And if she stops?”
“Then she becomes unstable.”
“What about the boy?”
“Theo stays with me. A Bellamy heir gives Northstar confidence.”
Seraphina paused the recording.
Her hands were trembling.
Mara closed the laptop.
“We have enough to request an injunction against the sale.”
“No,” Seraphina said.
Mara stared at her.
“No?”
“If we move now, Grant will destroy evidence, change the terms, or disappear.”
“You cannot allow the sale to proceed.”
“I won’t.”
Seraphina looked at the photograph of Evelyn, Adrian, and the baby.
“But I need to know whether Adrian is protecting Bellamy Holdings or preparing to claim it.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“The gala places everyone in one room.”
“Exactly.”
They created a plan.
Mara would prepare an emergency court filing but delay submission until the gala began.
Marcus would contact three board members still loyal to Edmund.
Delaney would return to Grant and pretend she had failed to find Seraphina.
Seraphina would remain out of public view while gathering the documents needed to activate the trust.
Theo listened from the doorway.
“Are we going to the party?”
Seraphina turned.
“You should be asleep.”
“I heard you say gala.”
She walked toward him.
“This party may not be safe.”
“Grandpa said I have to stand with you.”
“When did he say that?”
“In the rest of the video.”
Seraphina froze.
“What rest?”
Theo took the wooden train from her bag.
He pressed both wheels on the rear carriage at the same time.
A second compartment opened.
Another memory card fell into his palm.
“I forgot,” he said. “Grandpa told me there were two.”
They played the second video.
Edmund appeared in the red room again.
This time, Adrian Cole sat beside him.
Adrian looked directly into the camera.
“Seraphina, if you are watching this, then I failed to stop the sale quietly.”
Edmund placed the Bellamy pendant on the table.
“Adrian’s family has a legal claim to half the company,” he said. “But Northstar is not controlled by Adrian or Evelyn.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“Northstar was created by someone who believes both Bellamy families stole what belongs to her.”
“Who?” Seraphina whispered.
In the video, Edmund opened the red ledger.
A section had been cut from the center.
“The missing pages identify the true source of the original investment,” he said.
Adrian continued.
“Without those pages, we cannot prove who actually financed Bellamy Holdings.”
Edmund looked tired.
“If Grant has taken control, assume he has found at least one of them.”
The video ended.
Seraphina opened the red ledger from Vermont.
The cut section was visible between two bindings.
Several pages had been removed decades earlier.
Grant had one of them.
Perhaps more.
Mara’s phone rang.
It was the court-appointed supervisor assigned to Grant’s visits with Theo.
She listened for several seconds, then looked at Seraphina.
“Grant has filed a motion accusing us of hiding Theo outside the state.”
“We are back in the city.”
“That is not the problem.”
“What is?”
“He submitted security footage showing you leaving the apartment alone three nights ago.”
“I was in Vermont.”
“The timestamp says otherwise.”
Seraphina understood.
Grant was no longer merely forging signatures.
He was manufacturing an entire version of her life.
Mara placed the phone down.
“The judge has ordered Theo brought to the courthouse tomorrow morning.”
“And if I refuse?”
“You may lose custody before the gala.”
Theo took his mother’s hand.
Seraphina looked at the documents surrounding them.
Grant had forced her to choose between protecting the company and protecting her son.
He believed she could not do both.
May you like
He had made the same mistake her entire life.
He thought love made her weak.
