Chapter 9 - The Forged SignatureThe signature looked perfect.
That frightened me more than a bad fake would have.
Same slant.
Same long C.
Same stupid little curve beneath my last name.
Daniel stared.
“How could she copy that?”
Andrew answered.
“Wedding paperwork.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“You’ve signed dozens of vendor contracts over the last year. Venue. Florist. Catering. Insurance.”
Lena whispered:
“The dress contract.”
I remembered.
Vanessa had insisted on picking up the gown paperwork.
She said she wanted to surprise me with a veil.
I had handed her a folder containing my signature page.
Andrew continued.
“The account received four hundred and twelve thousand dollars.”
“From Collins?”
“Yes.”
“Where did it go?”
“Mostly out.”
Daniel asked, “Where?”
Andrew tapped the transaction list.
“North Bridge Consulting.”
I knew that name.
It appeared on three invoices in my secure folder.
Corporate strategy.
Brand expansion.
Research.
Services nobody could clearly describe.
The beneficial owner?
Vanessa Collins.
I sat back.
My sister forged my signature to create an account in my name.
Then moved stolen company money through it to a company she owned.
If the scheme was discovered casually, I looked involved.
Maybe that was the point.
Daniel said it aloud.
“She was building a trail to Claire.”
Andrew nodded.
I thought about Vanessa’s sabotage.
The leaked engagement photos.
The dress.
The constant need to make me look unstable.
Maybe she had not simply wanted to beat me.
Maybe she needed witnesses who already believed I was emotional and reckless.
Then Lena said:
“Claire.”
She was staring at the transaction dates.
“What?”
She pointed.
“One of these is the same day your mother died.”
The room went silent.
My mother had died from complications after surgery.
There was nothing suspicious about it.
I refused to let my mind invent a crime.
Andrew seemed to read my face.
“This is a financial date, nothing more.”
I nodded.
Facts.
Still, the transfer memo made my stomach twist.
EMERGENCY SUCCESSION CONSULTING.
Amount:
$125,000.
Approved forty-seven minutes after my mother’s death was recorded.
Vanessa had been at the hospital.
With me.
May you like
Holding my hand.
While someone moved the money.
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