Chapter 10 - The Man Who Signed
Renee caught the delivery man, but he had no identification and refused to speak. The bank cameras had been turned away.
They moved to a safe apartment. Julian called Warren Bell, a retired Vale records clerk his father had trusted. Warren agreed to meet before sunset.
Warren arrived with a folder and avoided Elara's eyes.
"I should have helped you then," he said. "I told myself I was only filing papers. I told myself I couldn't risk my pension."
"What did you file?" Elara asked.
Warren placed copies of the letters on the table. The originals had been removed and replaced, but he kept the copies because he suspected a forgery. Maeve had urged him to come forward before she died.
"Mrs. Vale dictated the wording," he said. "Mr. Pike arranged the signatures. I printed the letters on the old office printer and put them into the outgoing mail. I never knew you were pregnant. I swear that."
Elara stared at him. "You watched my life get destroyed and kept the proof in a drawer?"
Julian compared the forged signature with his father's note. The letters were convincing enough to fool anyone who wanted to believe them.
"My mother signed off on the transfers," Julian said. "But who signed the original authorization?"
Warren swallowed. "Graham Pike. He said the money was going to emergency repairs. When your father questioned him, Graham told him the board had approved it. The board had not. Your father planned to call a special meeting. Two days later, his car went off the road."
The room went silent.
Julian's father had died in a single-car crash. The official report blamed a tire failure, and the family lawyers closed the case within a week.
"Are you saying Graham killed my father?" he asked.
"I'm saying he knew the car had been serviced by a garage paid through Northlight Consulting. I can't prove more than that."
Warren produced a memory card. "Maeve said it contains a recording of Lydia, Graham, and the doctor who certified your father's crash."
"What doctor?" Julian asked.
"Dr. Harlan. He was the medical examiner who signed your father's report. He's alive, but he's been paid to stay quiet."
Renee's phone rang. She listened, then looked at Julian.
"The paternity results are ready," she said. "But someone has already filed an emergency petition claiming Elara is an unfit parent and the child is in danger. The hearing is tomorrow morning."
May you like
Elara gripped the edge of the table.
"They aren't trying to bury the money anymore," she said. "They're trying to take my daughter."
