Chapter 5 - The Trust
Richard Cole did not speak until the elevator doors shut.
Then he said, “You should be getting ready.”
Claire almost laughed.
“My dress is covered in yellow juice, your daughter may have disabled a security camera, and a housekeeper just told me to ask about a trust.”
Richard’s gaze shifted toward the ballroom.
“What trust?”
“That answer was too fast.”
He exhaled slowly.
“Claire, there are family financial matters that have nothing to do with today.”
“Then explain why Vanessa said I should think carefully before making a police report.”
Richard’s mouth tightened.
Behind Claire, footsteps approached.
Ethan.
“Dad.”
Richard looked at his son. “You told her?”
Ethan stopped.
Claire turned.
“Told me what?”
Neither man answered.
Claire’s heart began pounding.
“Ethan.”
He looked miserable.
“There’s a trust my grandfather created,” he said. “It holds part of the family company.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“If I marry before I turn thirty-five, my spouse becomes a voting beneficiary.”
Claire stared at him.
“When were you going to tell me?”
“After the honeymoon.”
“After I became a voting beneficiary?”
“It doesn’t change our marriage.”
“It changes whether I entered it knowing the truth.”
Richard stepped in. “The voting rights are mostly ceremonial.”
“Then why was your daughter trying to stop the wedding?”
“She wasn’t.”
Claire pointed at the stain. “What do you call this?”
Richard looked away.
Ethan reached for Claire’s hand.
She pulled it back.
“I need the full truth.”
“You have it,” he said.
“No, I have the version you finally admitted because I cornered you.”
Her phone buzzed again.
Unknown number.
This time, it was a photo.
A legal document lay on a wooden desk.
The top line read: SPOUSAL BENEFICIARY CONSENT.
Claire zoomed in.
At the bottom was her name.
And beneath it was a signature.
Her signature.
Except Claire had never signed the document.
She held the phone up.
“Then explain this.”
Ethan stared at the screen.
May you like
Richard closed his eyes.
And Claire knew the forged signature was real.
