CHAPTER 5: THE FORGED SIGNATURE
Roman stared at the document.
“I never signed that.”
Naomi enlarged the signature.
“It matches your legal records.”
“It was copied.”
“The court may not care. Adrian submitted six years of medical statements, witness accounts, and security reports.”
Evelyn read through the documents.
Each report described incidents she remembered differently.
A dinner where Adrian had shattered a glass was recorded as Evelyn having a violent episode.
A night when he locked her in the bedroom became an incident in which staff had supposedly protected him from her.
Every cruel moment had been rewritten.
Adrian had not simply abused her.
He had documented an alternate reality.
“What happens now?” Evelyn asked.
“There’s an emergency hearing tomorrow,” Naomi said. “If Adrian wins, he gains temporary control over your Hart International shares.”
“That’s what he wanted from the beginning,” Roman said.
Mara pointed to a section of the ledger.
“Adrian paid Dr. Vance for years.”
Torres gathered the evidence.
“We need Vance alive and willing to testify.”
Naomi shook her head.
“He disappeared this morning.”
Roman looked toward the window.
“Adrian is cleaning up.”
For the next several hours, they prepared for court. Evelyn recorded a statement describing Adrian’s manipulation. Roman contacted former security employees. Torres assigned protection to Mara.
Shortly after midnight, the apartment’s fire alarm activated.
Roman checked the hallway.
No smoke.
No fire.
When he returned, the ledger was gone.
So was Naomi.
The back window stood open.
A single drop of blood marked the sill.
Evelyn grabbed her phone and called Naomi.
No answer.
Roman searched the rooms.
“She took the ledger.”
“Or someone forced her.”
Torres examined the building’s security system.
“The cameras were disabled with Naomi’s access code.”
Evelyn refused to believe it.
Naomi had been beside her through every court filing, every board meeting, and every night Evelyn had considered leaving Adrian.
But Adrian had taught her the cost of trusting appearances.
A message arrived on Evelyn’s phone.
It contained a photograph of Naomi sitting inside a dark vehicle, the ledger on her lap.
Her expression was unreadable.
Beneath the photograph were six words.
SHE WAS NEVER YOUR FRIEND.
Evelyn’s phone rang immediately afterward.
Naomi’s name appeared on the screen.
Evelyn answered.
“Where are you?”
Naomi whispered so softly Evelyn nearly missed it.
“I took the ledger because Torres has been compromised.”
A sudden sound came from Naomi’s end of the call.
A man opening a car door.
May you like
Naomi drew a sharp breath.
Then the line went dead.
