Chapter 4: The Signature That Changed Everything
“Read it,” Chad said.
I opened the document.
My father’s name appeared beneath a clause transferring control of the hotels to Chad until I was deemed medically competent.
Brooke tapped the last page.
“It was witnessed and notarized.”
“You told me you’d never seen his estate papers.”
“I said I didn’t take the envelope.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
Chad pulled out a chair.
“Sit down, Graham.
Your legs are shaking.”
I pushed the chair away.
“My legs are fine.”
“Your judgment isn’t.”
The ballroom doors rattled from the other side.
Daniel looked at me, waiting.
“Open them,” I said.
Brooke smiled.
“Finally.”
Daniel turned the key.
A silver-haired woman entered with a leather case tucked beneath her arm.
“Helen Ward,” she said.
“Edmund Graham’s attorney.”
Brooke’s smile disappeared.
Helen placed her case on the table.
“I received an automatic alert when the private-office camera went offline.”
Chad held up the document.
“Then you can confirm this.”
Helen read the first page and removed her glasses.
“I can confirm that the wording came from an early draft.”
“And the signature?” I asked.
“It resembles Edmund’s.”
Chad gave me a thin smile.
“There.
You heard her.”
Helen raised one finger.
“I wasn’t finished.”
She opened her case and removed a small black drive.
“Edmund required video confirmation for every final estate document.
The recording was stored in the blue envelope.”
“The envelope that disappeared,” Brooke said.
“How convenient.”
“I kept a duplicate.”
For the first time, Chad looked frightened.
Helen connected the drive to Daniel’s tablet, but the screen flashed once and went dark.
“You broke it,” Isabella said to Chad.
“I barely touched it.”
“You knocked it onto marble.”
Brooke lifted her phone.
“We don’t need a damaged tablet.
The board has already received the signed transfer.”
My own phone began ringing.
The chairman’s name appeared on the screen.
I answered and put it on speaker.
“Graham,” Arthur Bell said, “the board has reviewed the competency clause.”
“Helen says the document was only a draft.”
“Chad supplied a notarized final copy.”
“It isn’t final.”
Arthur exhaled.
“Until this is resolved, you’re suspended from all company decisions.
Chad will serve as acting chief executive.”
Brooke looked around the ballroom as if she had already won.
“You’re trusting a document that may have been altered,” I said.
“We’re protecting the company.”
The call ended.
Chad picked up the wheelchair and rolled it toward me.
“It seems you need this after all.”
I shoved it aside.
He turned to Isabella.
“Your employment is terminated.
Security will escort you out.”
“You can’t fire her,” I said.
“As acting chief executive, I can.”
Isabella removed her name badge and placed it on the table.
Her hand was steady now.
“You took my card,” she told Brooke.
“Prove it.”
“I remember something else.”
Brooke’s eyes narrowed.
“Mr.
Edmund came to the hotel six months before he was gone,” Isabella said.
“He asked for my mother by name.”
“Who is your mother?” I asked.
“Maria Santos.
She cared for your father during his final year.”
Helen gripped the edge of the table.
“Maria witnessed the real signing.”
Chad stepped toward Isabella.
“Your mother signed a confidentiality agreement.”
“She kept a copy of everything Mr.
Edmund gave her.”
Brooke’s voice became almost gentle.
“Be careful, Isabella.
Your mother depends on company medical support.”
Isabella’s chin lifted.
“Are you threatening her care?”
“I’m reminding you who controls it now.”
My phone vibrated with a security alert.
Someone had just used my office computer to access the estate archive.
Daniel turned the tablet toward me.
“Sir, the request came from inside this ballroom.”
May you like
Every face turned toward Chad—but he was holding both hands in plain sight.
Then the archive began deleting itself.
