Chapter 5: The Signature Margaret Never Gave
Daniel called the number on the bank notice and put the phone on speaker.
“This is Daniel Mercer.
My mother did not authorize this loan.”
A woman answered, “I can pause the transfer, but I need to speak directly with Margaret Mercer.”
Margaret leaned toward the phone.
“I am Margaret Mercer.
I have never applied for a loan.”
“Mrs.
Mercer, our file contains your signature, identification and a notarized consent form.”
“My signature?”
Lauren folded her arms.
“Perhaps you forgot.”
Margaret’s fingers closed around the edge of the table.
Daniel turned on Lauren.
“How did the bank get her identification?”
“You handle her paperwork.
Ask yourself.”
Margaret looked at her son.
“Daniel?”
He swallowed.
“Lauren asked me for your tax folder last month.”
“You gave it to her?”
“She said the wedding insurer needed proof of family addresses.
I never opened the application.”
Margaret’s hand slipped from the table.
“So you gave her my papers.”
“Mom, I didn’t know.”
Lauren stepped nearer.
“Even your own son thought I should manage things for you.”
Margaret’s chair struck the wall as she backed away.
“Do not use my son’s mistake to make me disappear.”
Her voice broke on the final word.
Daniel reached for her, but she turned her face away.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I should have asked you.”
“You should have trusted me with my own life.”
“I do trust you.”
“Not enough to protect my name.”
Daniel lowered his hand.
“You’re right.”
Richard removed his jacket and placed it around Margaret’s shoulders.
“My daughter and my wife did this,” he said.
“You owe me nothing, but I will stay until every paper is accounted for.”
Margaret looked up at him.
“Why are you helping me?”
“Because I spent years calling cruelty ambition.
I won’t do it again.”
Victoria laughed without humor.
“How noble.
Will you tell them who paid your company’s debts?”
“You did—with money I now suspect was not yours.”
Lauren’s eyes flashed.
“Dad, don’t.”
Richard faced her.
“How many loans?”
“One.”
Sophie shook her head.
“That isn’t true.”
Lauren advanced on her.
“You know what happens if you keep talking.”
“What does that mean?” Daniel asked.
Sophie’s hand began trembling again.
Lauren lowered her voice.
“Sophie helped me find the broker.
If I go down, she goes with me.”
Sophie stared at the floor.
“I introduced her to someone from my old office.
She told me Daniel wanted a short-term wedding loan.”
“And you believed her?” Margaret asked.
“I wanted to.
She was my best friend.”
Lauren reached for Sophie’s hand.
“Then act like it.
Delete the messages, and I will tell everyone you knew nothing.”
Sophie pulled away.
“That is not friendship.”
“It is your only way out.”
“No.
The truth is.”
Sophie tapped her phone and opened an audio file.
Lauren’s recorded voice filled the ballroom.
“Once we have Margaret’s identification, the broker can copy her signature.
Daniel won’t learn about it until after the honeymoon.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
Victoria moved toward Sophie.
“Turn that off.”
Richard blocked her path.
The recording continued.
“If Margaret objects, we’ll say she’s confused.
Daniel already worries about her living alone.”
Margaret looked at Daniel.
Tears ran down her face, but this time she did not hide them.
“Did you worry about me?”
“Yes,” he said.
“But I never wanted your home.”
“Then stand beside me now.”
Daniel took her hand.
“I’m not moving.”
Lauren grabbed Sophie’s phone and threw it toward the marble floor.
Elena caught it against her chest.
“You are finished here,” Elena said.
Lauren’s own phone lit up in her hand.
She glanced at it and smiled.
Sophie checked her screen.
“What is it?” Daniel asked.
“A remote deletion request,” Sophie said.
May you like
“Someone is erasing the shared files from Lauren’s laptop.”
Lauren turned and ran toward the bridal suite.
