Chapter 2 - A Death Without a Body
Nora snatched the certificate from his hand.
“No. No, this isn’t possible.”
The paper carried a state seal and a date of death: October 14, three years earlier.
Roman looked at Helena. “You had me declared dead.”
“You disappeared,” Helena said.
“I was arrested on charges Marco arranged.”
Marco wiped blood from his mouth. “Careful.”
Nora turned the page, then froze.
“Roman.”
“What?”
She held it out.
Petitioner: Nora Calder.
“I never filed this,” she said.
The signature looked almost perfect.
Helena folded her arms. “You were grieving. You signed a lot of papers.”
“I would remember declaring my husband dead.”
Roman called Daniel Price, the attorney who had spent years helping overturn his conviction.
Daniel answered fast. “Tell me you’re inside the house.”
“I’m inside a vault. There’s a forged death certificate with Nora’s name on it.”
“Do not touch anything else.”
“Too late.”
Daniel went silent, then said, “October fourteenth matters for another reason. That’s the day controlling ownership of Calder Freight transferred out of your trust.”
Roman’s stomach tightened. “How much?”
“Forty-one percent.”
“To who?”
“Northstar Holdings.”
Roman dug through the box and found a corporate transfer agreement.
At the bottom was Nora’s signature.
This time, she didn’t deny it.
Her face collapsed.
“I remember signing that one.”
Roman stared at her.
“You signed away my company?”
“I didn’t know that’s what it was. Mom said they were probate papers.”
Helena’s eyes shifted toward the vault door.
Roman saw it.
“Daniel,” he said into the phone, “find out who owns Northstar.”
Daniel typed for several seconds.
Then his voice changed.
“Roman… Northstar’s registered manager is Marco Velez.”
Marco smiled.
May you like
But Daniel wasn’t finished.
“And the beneficial owner is Helena Ward.”
