Chapter 3 - The Name He Buried

Northstar wasn't a secret company. It was the name on the agreement Marcus had spent five years convincing me didn't matter.

When his father nearly lost Vale Meridian during the recession, my mother saved it. June Rowan had savings and land every developer wanted. She put that land and her savings into a rescue deal. In return, Northstar Trust received fifty-one percent of the company's voting interests.

My mother died when I was twenty-four. At thirty, I became Northstar's successor trustee. By then I was married to Marcus, who had taken over as chief executive. He'd called the papers routine and kissed me before I finished reading.

"Let the lawyers handle the boring stuff, sweetheart."

I believed him because I wanted a husband, not a business fight. Later, whenever I asked about the company, he would say, "Those old votes were cleaned up years ago. You're a beneficiary, Ivy. Not a boss."

Six weeks earlier, a maintenance worker from one of our apartment buildings had approached me after a charity dinner. He said a tenant had nearly died because the heating system hadn't been repaired, even though the repair fund was emptying faster than ever.

I asked Marcus about it. He told me to stay out of his business. When I asked again, he slapped me. Then he brought flowers and blamed work.

The next morning I requested certified company documents from the registered agent instead of asking my husband.

The voting agreement was still active. So was my authority as trustee. The amendment Marcus claimed had stripped it away bore a signature that looked like mine but wasn't. The notary stamp belonged to a woman who had retired before the supposed signing date.

I called Mara Chen, my mother's lawyer. She promised to follow the evidence, not sell me a fantasy.

We spent the next six weeks collecting records, preparing for a court filing, and building a safety plan. The transfer scheduled for that Friday morning was the line I decided no one would cross.

In the police car outside the mansion, I saw a new message from Mara.

THE COURT ACCEPTED THE EMERGENCY PAPERS. HEARING AT TWO. KEEP YOUR PHONE ON.

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I should have felt relief. Instead I stared at the second message beneath it.

IVY, THERE'S SOMETHING WORSE IN THE ALDER COURT FILE. YOUR MOTHER WARNED THEM ABOUT THIS YEARS AGO.