The Signature That Wasn't Mine
Chapter 07 - The Signature That Wasn't Mine
My attorney, Rebecca Shaw, had represented my family for twelve years.
When I showed her the document, she removed her glasses.
"Claire, are you absolutely certain?"
"I've never seen this."
The amendment extended Daniel's authority over several corporate decisions.
Not ownership.
Not yet.
But enough to negotiate property sales, restructure divisions, and represent my interests before the board.
"Can he do that?"
"Not if the authorization was obtained fraudulently."
"Was it?"
Rebecca studied the signature.
"We find out."
I didn't want revenge.
Not then.
I wanted the truth.
There is a difference.
Revenge wants someone to hurt.
Truth wants the hurting to stop.
I moved out of Daniel's penthouse that afternoon.
Technically, it was my penthouse.
I'd purchased it six years before meeting him.
But I needed distance more than property.
I checked into an accessible hotel and changed every password I could remember.
Then I called June.
Eli answered.
"Did your toe move again?"
I laughed for the first time in days.
"Not exactly."
"Oh."
"But something else did."
"What?"
"My brain."
He laughed.
I asked whether they would have dinner with me.
We ate burgers at a neighborhood diner.
No crystal glasses.
No white tablecloths.
I learned that Rachel had died eleven months earlier after a sudden illness.
June had taken custody of Eli.
Money was tight.
The laundromat owner let June bring him after school because childcare cost more than she earned.
"Mom said you were stubborn," Eli told me.
I nearly choked on my fries.
"Your mother didn't know me."
"She said you kept trying even when it hurt."
June looked down.
"Rachel admired you."
I wanted to tell her Rachel might have saved me.
Instead, I reached across the table.
"She did something brave."
June's eyes filled with tears.
Before we left, she gave me another item from Rachel's box.
A business card.
Daniel Cross.
On the back, Rachel had written a date.
The date was three days before she was dismissed from Harbor Ridge.
And beneath it:
He told me never to contact Claire again.
I stared at Daniel's name.
This was no longer about canceled appointments.
May you like
He had deliberately silenced someone who tried to help me.
The only question left was why.
