Chapter 6: The Signature on the Contract
The board members gathered around Graham’s tablet.
Victor folded his arms.
“A man entering his own archive proves nothing.”
David placed the wet ledger before him.
“It proves you knew where the records were.”
“It proves I performed my duties.”
Rachel pointed at the screen.
“Why did you have a notary’s seal?”
Victor opened his briefcase and removed a blue folder.
“For this.”
He slid a contract across the table.
Rachel’s signature appeared on every page beside the seal.
“What is it?” Helen asked.
Victor looked directly at David.
“Rachel assigned the software, the bank account, and all related rights to Ward Holdings.”
Rachel shook her head.
“I have never seen that document.”
“Your signature says otherwise.”
David turned to the board attorney.
“Check the date.”
The attorney adjusted her glasses.
“June eighteenth, ten years ago.”
Victor tapped the final page.
“Rachel—not I—transferred Mr.
Bennett’s work.
If money was wrongly taken, she authorized it.”
Rachel’s chair scraped against the floor.
“You said those papers were for a loan.”
“You signed them voluntarily.”
“You left the pages blank.”
Victor shrugged.
“That is an accusation from a rejected job applicant.”
One board member closed the ledger.
“David, until this is resolved, we cannot approve further action against Mr.
Ward.”
Victor sat back.
“And the transition contract remains in force.”
Rachel looked around the table.
“He forged the letter.
You all heard him admit it.”
“A personal letter is not a corporate document,” Victor replied.
The attorney turned to Rachel.
“Were you present before the notary named here?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Then we have a valid sealed contract and no readable financial record to contradict it.”
Victor smiled at David.
“You wanted justice.
Instead, you discovered your former girlfriend sold you out.”
David’s hand tightened around the contract.
Rachel’s voice dropped.
“If you believe him, say it to my face.”
David met her eyes.
“I believe you signed something.”
Her shoulders folded.
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Before he could answer, Helen placed her phone in the middle of the table.
“I called the notary.”
An elderly man appeared on the screen.
“My name is Arthur Bell,” he said.
“That is my seal number, but I did not witness this contract.”
Victor stood.
“You cannot trust the memory of an old man.”
Arthur lifted a hospital record.
“I was having heart surgery on June eighteenth.
My seal disappeared from my office while I was away.”
The board attorney took the phone.
“Mr.
Bell, will you provide a sworn statement?”
“I already sent it.”
Victor reached for his briefcase.
“This meeting is over.”
David blocked the door.
“No.
Now it begins.”
Victor slowly withdrew another paper.
“If you want to discuss old records, explain this.”
He placed a receipt before David.
It carried the signature of David’s late father, Samuel Bennett.
“Your father accepted one hundred thousand dollars to settle every claim against me.”
Helen gripped the table.
“Samuel never told me about this.”
Victor leaned close to David.
“Perhaps your hero was not the man you thought he was.”
May you like
David studied the signature.
It was genuine.
