Chapter 7 - THE LIE WITH HER FATHER’S SIGNATURE
For the first time since Daniel raised the belt, Olivia wondered whether Elaine’s version of history contained one piece of truth.
Not the whole truth.
But enough truth to poison everything around it.
Robert Carter’s signature appeared beneath a transfer that had stripped almost half of Daniel’s childhood trust.
Rebecca refused to speculate.
“We authenticate it.”
“How?”
“Original documents if they still exist. Comparison samples. Ink dating if necessary. Bank records.”
“And until then?”
“Until then, it’s a photocopy.”
Olivia hated how calm Rebecca could remain.
She needed that calm anyway.
At Carter Precision, the board’s outside cybersecurity team found additional unauthorized access.
Someone had downloaded old merger documents, shareholder records, and founder correspondence.
Nothing related to manufacturing secrets.
Nothing competitors normally wanted.
The intruder had been searching for history.
Harold allowed Olivia into the building for an interview but not back onto company systems.
“Don’t take this personally,” he said.
“I own forty-one percent of this place.”
“You also had your credentials compromised.”
“By my husband.”
“Most likely.”
“Then suspend him.”
“He doesn’t work here.”
Olivia almost smiled.
Harold softened.
“The board isn’t punishing you. We’re protecting the company.”
“I know.”
But knowing did not make walking past her own office easier.
Sarah caught her near the elevator.
“Can I talk to you?”
Olivia kept walking.
“Talk.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what part?”
“For believing the voicemail.”
“You had no reason not to.”
Sarah flinched.
“That somehow makes me feel worse.”
Olivia stopped.
Sarah looked thinner than she had a week earlier.
“I should’ve called you back directly.”
“Yes.”
“I should’ve questioned Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t because I liked him.”
That answer stopped Olivia.
Sarah continued.
“He was good at making people feel like they were helping you.”
Olivia thought about Maui.
Daniel ordering room service while she showered.
Daniel remembering how she took her coffee.
Daniel carrying sunscreen because she always forgot.
Manipulation was easier to recognize when it looked cruel.
It was harder when it looked considerate.
Sarah lowered her voice.
“There’s something I haven’t told the board.”
Olivia’s posture changed.
“What?”
“Daniel asked me about Thomas Mercer before the wedding.”
“When?”
“Two days after his meeting with me.”
“What exactly did he ask?”
“He wanted to know whether founder disputes could affect a company sale.”
“And you answered?”
“I said old claims can complicate due diligence.”
Olivia stared at her.
Sarah looked ashamed.
“I thought he was asking theoretically.”
“Nothing about Daniel was theoretical.”
That afternoon, Rebecca received preliminary information on EJM Holdings.
The company had purchased a townhouse development outside Raleigh in 2004.
It sold the property six years later for a substantial profit.
Half the sale proceeds went toward paying off Elaine’s mortgage.
Another portion went into a business Mark started at twenty-eight.
None appeared to have returned to the trusts.
Daniel received this information through his attorney.
At six that evening, he requested another counsel-to-counsel call.
Olivia almost refused.
Then Rebecca said, “He may know where the originals are.”
Daniel sounded different this time.
Not apologetic.
Hollow.
“My mother told me Robert took everything.”
Olivia did not answer.
“She watched me work forty hours a week through college.”
Still nothing.
“I dropped out for a semester because I couldn’t pay tuition.”
Olivia stared out Rebecca’s window at traffic below.
Daniel laughed once, softly.
“She had my money.”
“Yes.”
“I need to see the check.”
Rebecca emailed his attorney a copy.
Daniel stayed silent for nearly a minute.
Then he said, “That’s Robert’s signature.”
Olivia looked at Rebecca.
Daniel continued.
“I saw it before.”
“Where?”
“Storage.”
“What storage?”
“My mother rented a unit after she sold our childhood house.”
“Daniel, where?”
He hesitated.
His attorney said, “You do not have to answer.”
Daniel ignored him.
“South Saunders Street. Blue Ridge Storage. Unit 317.”
“Why were you there?”
“Mom told me to clear boxes before the wedding.”
“And you saw this?”
“I saw papers with Robert’s signature.”
“Did you read them?”
“No.”
Olivia did not believe him.
Daniel seemed to hear that in her silence.
“I was angry. I didn’t want proof. I wanted confirmation.”
“Confirmation of what?”
“That your father had screwed us.”
Olivia closed her eyes.
Daniel said, “I kept something from the unit.”
“What?”
“A key.”
“To what?”
“I don’t know.”
There was movement on his end.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Mark wants it.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he came to my apartment last night.”
Daniel paused.
“He said if I give you that key, Mom will tell the police the belt was my idea.”
Olivia’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“And wasn’t it?”
Daniel did not answer.
That silence told her Mark possessed something Daniel was frightened to have exposed.
May you like
Then Daniel said the words that changed the question entirely.
“No. The belt was hers.”
