Chapter 4: The Order with a De@d Man’s Signature
Richard blocked the terrace doors while Jonah locked the lodge’s main entrance.
“Who took Emily?” Richard demanded.
Claudia buttoned her coat.
“Perhaps she walked away from you again.”
“You forged someone’s name.”
“Prove it.”
Mark held up his phone.
“The sheriff is coming, Dad.
When he sees you holding us here, this will end badly for you.”
“For me?”
Mark placed a folded document on the table.
“You were declared medically incompetent six weeks ago.
I am your temporary guardian.”
Richard opened the document.
His company, homes, and personal accounts were listed beneath Mark’s name.
“You asked me to sign one insurance form.”
“You signed what your doctor put in front of you.”
“My doctor was Dr.
Samuel Keene.”
“And he certified your decline.”
Richard touched the signature.
“Samuel didn’t write this.”
Claudia leaned closer.
“How would you know?
You barely remember your own appointments.”
Noah stared up at Richard.
“Grandpa, did you forget me?”
Richard’s mouth opened, but no words came.
The paper shook between his fingers.
Noah reached for him.
“It’s okay.
I forget things too.”
Richard dropped to one knee and pulled the child close.
“I did not forget you.
I should have come sooner, but I will not leave you now.”
The front doors opened.
Deputy Laura Meyers stepped inside with snow on her boots, followed by Grace Holloway, the Bellacorte family attorney.
Mark pointed at Richard.
“He detained us and took my son.”
Grace took the guardianship order from Richard.
“Which court issued this?”
“Jefferson County,” Mark said.
Grace examined the signature page.
“Dr.
Keene supposedly witnessed it on October ninth.”
“That’s right.”
“He couldn’t have.”
Claudia folded her arms.
“Why not?”
Grace looked directly at her.
“Dr.
Keene was de@d by September.”
Mark’s jaw tightened.
“Then it’s a clerical error.”
“A de@d man’s signature is not a clerical error,” Richard said.
Deputy Meyers lifted one hand.
“Nobody is leaving until I verify this.”
Her radio crackled.
Mark’s expression changed when the dispatcher repeated the registration of a medical transport van.
Richard stepped closer.
“Is that the vehicle carrying Emily?”
The deputy listened again.
“It was seen heading south thirty minutes ago.”
“Stop it.”
“I’ve issued an alert.”
Claudia laughed softly.
“You’re chasing a van in a snowstorm based on the words of a confused old man.”
Jonah appeared with a bag of children’s clothes.
“These belonged to my grandson.
They should fit Noah.”
Claudia stared at him.
“You work for us.”
“I worked for the Bellacorte family,” Jonah replied.
“I didn’t agree to watch a child freeze.”
He carried Noah into the adjoining room.
Minutes later, the boy returned in warm pajamas, socks, and a wool sweater.
“Thank you,” Noah whispered.
Jonah crouched beside him.
“You never need to thank someone for keeping you warm.”
Mark’s phone rang.
He turned away, but Grace caught his arm.
“Put it on speaker.”
“You have no authority.”
Richard tapped the guardianship paper.
“Neither do you.”
Mark answered.
A man’s voice filled the room.
“Mr.
Bellacorte, the board accepted your emergency motion.
Richard has been suspended as chairman until his competency hearing.”
Richard’s birthday guests looked down at the table.
Mark ended the call and held out his hand.
“The company, the lodge, and every security officer here now answer to me.
Give me Noah.”
Deputy Meyers stepped between them.
“Not until child services arrives.”
“You have no evidence that he is unsafe with me.”
Jonah turned his phone around.
Security footage showed Claudia forcing Noah through the terrace doors.
Mark watched the recording once.
Then he looked at Jonah.
“You’ll never work in Colorado again.”
“Threatening a witness was a poor choice,” Grace said.
A second call came through the deputy’s radio.
She listened, then looked at Richard.
“The transport van has been found.”
“Where is Emily?”
“The van is empty.
The driver is gone, and someone wiped the destination from its navigation system.”
Claudia picked up her purse.
Richard stepped into her path.
“You know where she is.”
She leaned close enough that only he and Grace could hear.
“By morning, Richard, you won’t have a company, a home, or legal authority over Noah.”
Then Grace’s phone lit up with an account alert.
May you like
She looked at the screen and went pale.
“Mark just transferred eight million dollars from Noah’s trust.”
