Chapter 4 - The Woman in the Hallway
“That's forgery,” I said.
Evelyn scoffed. “It's a preliminary draft.”
“Then why is it dated Thursday?”
Grant snatched up the page. “You're confused. Let's not do this in front of the help.”
I turned. Rosa, the housekeeper, stood in the hallway holding a basket of clean towels. She'd been present at breakfast long enough to see the bruise developing on my face. She looked frightened, but she didn't look away.
“Rosa,” I said, “could you please call 911?”
Evelyn snapped, “Don't you dare.”
Rosa's eyes moved from Evelyn to me. Then she set down the towels and reached for her phone.
Grant crossed the room. “Rosa, you're fired if you—”
“Don't threaten her,” I said.
Rosa lifted the phone anyway. In a quiet voice she told the dispatcher there had been an assault and that a woman was trying to leave the house.
I wanted to hug her. Instead I grabbed my purse and wedding shoes. The heel of one was broken from the reception. I didn't care.
Walter finally spoke. “Grant, let her go.”
His son rounded on him. “Dad, stay out of this.”
That single command told me more about the family than a year of dinners had.
The doorbell rang. Not the police yet. A courier waited on the front steps with a thick envelope. He looked at Grant, then at me, and his smile disappeared.
“Delivery for Mrs. Claire Whitmore. Signature required.”
“I am Claire Bennett,” I said. “And I haven't changed it.”
I saved the courier envelope and photographed each page before passing copies to Theo. My handwriting had a particular loop in the B of Bennett, a habit left over from school.
Inside the envelope was a copy of our marriage certificate and a notarized consent form. Both had been prepared before yesterday's ceremony. A separate note read: Please confirm receipt of the executed asset transfer before 10:00 a.m.
May you like
I glanced at the clock. Nine forty-six.
Someone had scheduled a transfer of my company fourteen minutes from now.
