Chapter 4: A Child Who Refused to Stay Quiet
Daniel showed me the message.
“Can you trace it?” I asked.
“Not quickly.
It came through a temporary account.”
“Send one reply.
Ask for proof.”
Before he could type, Michael’s number appeared on my phone again.
This time, his voice filled the car.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“Trying to stop the sale of your father’s company.”
“Lauren says you accused her of forging my signature.”
“Did you knowingly give her control of your shares?”
Silence followed.
“Michael?”
“I signed some forms last night.”
“What did she tell you they were?”
“Travel permissions and insurance documents.”
Lauren spoke near him.
“Tell her the rest.”
“What rest?” I asked.
Michael exhaled.
“Lauren says the company is in financial trouble and the board approached her about a buyer.”
“The board did no such thing.”
“She showed me the figures.”
“Figures supplied by whom?”
Lauren took the phone.
“You’re upsetting him.”
“You lied to him.”
“I protected him from a company that has never respected him.”
“You used his signature to seize his vote.”
“He signed voluntarily.”
“Without reading the pages you hid underneath.”
Her voice hardened.
“Be careful, Margaret.
If you turn Michael against me, the children will pay for it.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means divorces become ugly.
Homes get divided.
Children get questioned.
Is that what you want for Emma and Noah?”
Michael said, “Lauren, stop.”
The line went quiet, but it did not disconnect.
A man’s voice spoke in the background.
“Mrs.
Harrison requested that we return to the marina.”
Lauren snapped, “Captain Reyes, I hired this yacht.
Stay on course.”
“My contract lists Harrison Manufacturing as the chartering party.”
“That company will belong to me by noon.”
“Until noon, Mrs.
Harrison’s instruction stands.”
I heard footsteps and a door close.
Michael returned to the phone.
“Mom, did you order the captain to turn around?”
“Yes.”
“You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Take control when you think I’ve failed.”
His words struck harder than his hands had on the dock.
“Maybe Lauren is right,” he said.
“Maybe the company has always mattered more to you than I do.”
My phone slipped against my palm.
Daniel caught my wrist before it dropped.
“Mrs.
Harrison, stay with him.”
I swallowed.
“Michael, I came to the marina to protect you.”
“You came to stop me.”
“I came because someone used your name.”
“Dad trusted me.”
“So did I.”
“No,” he said.
“You watched me.”
The call ended.
I pressed my hand against my mouth.
Daniel moved the laptop aside and held out a handkerchief without looking away.
“You can be hurt after noon,” he said quietly.
“Right now, your grandchildren still need you.”
My eyes burned.
“Send Captain Reyes every document we have.”
Daniel’s laptop chimed.
The unknown sender had replied with a photograph.
Michael was seated at his kitchen table with a stack of papers before him.
Lauren stood behind his chair, lifting one page as he signed another.
In the corner, reflected in a dark window, stood Grant Keller.
A second photograph arrived.
May you like
It showed the witness line beneath Michael’s signature.
Grant Keller had signed it himself.
