Chapter 5: The Signature at the Bank
Paul arrived at the bank the next morning wearing the same shirt he had worn to our engagement party.
He stopped when he saw Lorraine, Mae, and me waiting inside the manager’s office.
“Daniel, Diana told me the party got out of hand.”
“Sit down.”
“I have work.”
“Sit down, Paul.”
The bank manager, Harriet Cole, closed the door.
Paul lowered himself into the chair but kept his coat on.
Harriet placed the transfer document on the desk.
“Do you recognize this signature?”
Paul barely glanced at it.
“It looks like mine.”
“It is yours,” I said.
“Why did you witness a document I never signed?”
“I must have witnessed something else.”
“Account 417 held Emma’s trust for Oliver.”
Paul’s face changed.
His hands disappeared beneath the desk.
Harriet opened a folder.
“Four hundred and eighty thousand dollars was transferred from that account eighteen months ago.”
Lorraine gripped the edge of her chair.
“Where did it go?”
“To a holding company called Silver Meridian.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” I said.
Paul stood.
“Then this has nothing to do with me.”
Mae blocked the doorway.
“Sit down and tell your brother the truth.”
Paul stared at her.
“Who are you?”
“The woman Diana tried to frighten into silence.”
My phone rang.
Diana’s name lit the screen.
“Answer it,” Harriet said.
“Put it on speaker.”
I did.
“Daniel,” Diana said, “you need to leave that bank.”
“How do you know where I am?”
“Because Paul called Marcus.”
Paul looked at the carpet.
Diana continued, “The trust transfer was authorized.
If you accuse me publicly, Marcus will freeze every account you have.”
“You used papers you told me were for our wedding venue.”
“You signed them willingly.”
“That isn’t my signature.”
“Prove it.”
Harriet turned her monitor toward me.
“We have the original request.
It was submitted with a copy of your passport and a notarized identity form.”
“Who notarized it?”
“Marcus Vale.”
Diana heard her brother’s name and went quiet.
“Your brother helped you,” I said.
“Be careful, Daniel.
Oliver has already lost one stable parent.
If you continue this, someone may question whether you’re fit to be the other.”
My throat tightened.
“Are you threatening my son?”
“I’m offering you a choice.
Stop digging, marry me as planned, and Oliver’s future remains protected.”
“You threw his mother’s locket into a cake.”
“He needs discipline, not permission to live in the past.”
I ended the call.
Paul moved toward the door.
“I can’t be part of this.”
“You already are,” I said.
Harriet slid another photograph across the desk.
A bank security camera had captured Diana and Paul submitting the documents together.
Paul sank back into his chair.
“She said the money belonged to Emma’s father,” he whispered.
“She said she was correcting an old mistake.”
“And you believed her?”
“She knew about my debts.”
Lorraine’s voice hardened.
“So you sold Oliver’s security to save yourself.”
“No.
Diana promised the money would be returned.”
“When?”
“After she married Daniel and gained control of the family accounts.”
I shoved my chair back.
“You helped her get close to me?”
Paul covered his face.
“I introduced you at the charity dinner because she ordered me to.”
“You watched her move into my home.”
“I thought she loved you.”
“You thought she would protect you.”
Paul reached into his coat and produced a cheap black phone.
“She gave me this so nothing could be traced to my regular number.”
Harriet took it.
“What’s on it?”
“Messages.
Instructions.
A photograph of the forms before Marcus notarized them.”
“Why keep it?” I asked.
Paul met my eyes.
“Because once she had your signature, she started talking about sending Oliver away to school.”
Lorraine put a hand over Oliver’s empty chair beside her.
He was safely at her neighbor’s house, but Diana’s threat filled the room.
Harriet powered on the phone.
One unread message appeared.
May you like
PAUL, GET THE BOY’S PASSPORT BEFORE DANIEL FINDS OUT.
WE LEAVE TONIGHT.
