Chapter 4: The Signature She Couldn’t Take Back
Maya searched the folds of her gown.
“My phone was in the bridal suite.”
Caleb’s hand moved away from his pocket.
She saw it.
“Why do you have my phone?”
“I was keeping it safe.”
“Give it to me.”
He placed it in her palm, but the screen was unlocked.
Maya opened her messages and found a security code marked as read.
“You used this.”
Caleb shook his head.
“Victor asked me to bring your phone.
I didn’t know what he was doing.”
Victor raised both hands.
“Maya gave me permission to manage the wedding reserve.”
“For five thousand dollars,” Maya said.
“You signed an authorization.”
“To arrange hotel upgrades!”
“The wording was broader than that.”
Marcus put the bank on speaker.
A woman answered after the transfer department connected.
“Mr.
Bennett, the receiving bank has accepted the first payment,” she said.
“The second transfer is pending review.”
“Freeze it,” Marcus replied.
“We need consent from the account holder.”
“I funded that account.”
“But Miss Bennett is the primary holder.”
Maya leaned toward the phone.
“This is Maya Bennett.
I did not approve the second transfer.”
Victor pulled a folded sheet from his jacket.
“Perhaps you should remember what you signed.”
He handed it to the venue manager, who had entered with two security guards.
The manager studied the page.
“This appears to be a notarized gift authorization,” she said.
Maya’s lips parted.
“I never signed a gift.”
“Yes, you did,” Victor replied.
“Caleb witnessed it.”
Caleb looked at the floor.
Marcus stepped toward him.
“Look at her and say that.”
“I witnessed her signature,” Caleb muttered.
“Look at her.”
Caleb lifted his eyes.
“You signed it, Maya.”
She stumbled backward into a chair.
Helen reached for her, but Maya recoiled.
“No.
Everyone keeps telling me what I said, what I signed, and who I’m supposed to love.”
Marcus took one step forward.
Maya looked straight at him.
“You are not my father.
Maybe you never were.”
His hands fell to his sides.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
A woman in a lavender dress pushed through the guests and placed a chair behind him.
“Sit down before your knees give way,” she said.
Marcus recognized Caleb’s mother, Diane.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you aren’t.
Sit.”
She pressed a glass of water into his hand, then turned to Maya.
“My son is lying to you.”
Caleb’s face tightened.
“Mom, stay out of this.”
“I stayed out of it when you borrowed money from me.
I stayed out when Victor started taking you to private lunches.
I will not stay out while you trap that young woman.”
Victor laughed.
“You have no idea what you heard.”
Diane took out her phone.
“Then perhaps everyone should hear it.”
She pressed play.
Caleb’s voice came through the speaker.
“Once the vows are finished, her grandfather’s trust unlocks.
Marcus won’t be able to stop us.”
Victor’s recorded voice followed.
“He can object, but Maya will be your wife.
Keep her angry at him until the papers are filed.”
Maya gripped the back of the chair.
“What trust?”
Marcus rose slowly.
“Your grandfather left money for you.
I was not allowed to tell you the amount until you turned thirty or married.”
“How much?”
“Six hundred thousand dollars.”
Caleb moved toward Diane.
“Give me that phone.”
She held it behind her.
“Come one step closer and I’ll play the part where you discuss your share.”
Victor grabbed the phone from her hand and threw it to the marble floor.
The screen shattered.
For one second, nobody moved.
Then Diane calmly opened her handbag and removed a second device.
“That was my old phone,” she said.
“The recording is already in the cloud.”
The ballroom doors opened again.
A silver-haired woman carrying a leather case walked inside.
“Good,” she said.
“Because I have the trust file.”
Victor’s expression changed.
Marcus stared at the newcomer.
“Ruth?
Who called you?”
Ruth set the case on the table.
“The bank did,” she replied.
“Someone filed a request this morning to remove you as Maya’s trustee.”
May you like
She opened the folder and placed one page before Maya.
“And whoever signed Maya’s name spelled her middle name wrong.”
