Chapter 4: The Signature She Borrowed
I held the photograph toward Vanessa.
“What did you give her?”
Vanessa stared at the screen.
“That isn’t what it looks like.”
“Then tell me what it is.”
Diane moved between us.
“My daughter owes you no explanation while your father is accusing me of fraud.”
Vanessa pushed past her.
“Stop speaking for me.”
The ballroom fell quiet again.
She looked at me.
“Two weeks ago, Mom said the hotel needed a vendor authorization.
She told me your signature was missing.”
“My signature?”
“She said you had already approved it.
I gave her a scanned copy from our marriage license application.”
My stomach tightened.
“You handed someone my signature without asking me?”
“She’s my mother.
I trusted her.”
Diane folded her arms.
“And there it is.
Vanessa made a foolish mistake, so now I’m the villain.”
Arthur stepped closer.
“You placed Daniel’s signature beneath a financial guarantee.”
“Prove it.”
Ms.
Carter raised the folder.
“The original file includes its upload history.”
Diane smiled.
“Then you should know it came through the foundation’s secure system.
Perhaps you should investigate your own employees.”
Her confidence returned so quickly that I knew she had prepared for this moment.
A man in a gray suit rose from a table near the front.
“She’s right.”
Ms.
Carter stiffened.
“Mr.
Nolan?”
He buttoned his jacket.
“I’m the foundation’s banking liaison.
The authorization passed every required check.”
Arthur looked at him.
“Who asked you to attend this wedding?”
“Diane invited me.”
“Why?”
Nolan glanced toward the guests.
“To confirm the marriage and release the payment.”
I stepped in front of him.
“There is no marriage.”
Diane pointed toward the unsigned register beside the altar.
“There will be if you stop behaving like a child.”
“You humiliated my father.”
“He deceived you for years.”
“And you tried to use me as collateral.”
Diane’s voice dropped.
“Sign the register, Daniel.
Vanessa gets her wedding, my employees keep their jobs, and your father loses nothing he cannot afford.”
Arthur placed a hand on my shoulder.
“People who love you do not ask you to sign under pressure.”
Diane gave him a cold smile.
“People who love their sons don’t hide a fortune from them.”
The words landed harder than I wanted them to.
I turned to Arthur.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“This is not the place.”
“That’s what you said when Ms.
Carter arrived.
When is the place, Dad?”
His hand fell away.
Vanessa moved toward me.
“Daniel, I didn’t know she used your signature.”
“But you knew your family needed this marriage.”
“I knew her business was struggling.
That’s all.”
Diane seized the marriage register and shoved a pen toward me.
“One signature ends this.”
Arthur took the pen from her and laid it down.
“No signature obtained through deception is valid,” he said.
Nolan’s phone rang.
He answered, listened, and looked at Diane.
“What?” Ms.
Carter demanded.
Nolan ended the call.
“The board’s release window closed thirty seconds ago.”
Arthur reached for his own phone.
“Then the payment was stopped.”
Nolan did not answer.
Diane’s smile returned.
Ms.
Carter grabbed Nolan’s arm.
“Where is the eight million dollars?”
May you like
He removed her hand and stepped back.
“The transfer has already been completed.”
