Chapter 6 - THE SIGNATURE OF A DEAD MAN|
I returned to the hospital carrying Olivia's belongings and a secret I couldn't bring myself to tell her.
The photograph of Matthew rested inside my handbag.
His smiling face looked impossibly young.
I remembered the last time he'd visited the mansion before the accident.
He had stood in the kitchen eating chocolate cake straight from the pan while Olivia laughed and told him he was ruining dinner.
Back then, everyone believed they had years ahead of them.
Now his widow was lying in a hospital bed, defending herself against people who wanted to use his daughter's inheritance.
When I entered Olivia's room, she was sitting upright.
Dr. Shah had just finished examining her.
Her blood pressure had improved, and the monitoring showed no immediate need for delivery.
But she still required observation because of the earlier complications.
Olivia smiled when she saw me.
“Did you find Matthew's picture?”
I nodded and handed it to her.
She pressed the frame against her chest.
“He would hate seeing me like this.”
I sat beside her.
“Matthew would be proud that you're fighting for your daughter.”
Her eyes filled.
“He always said I was stronger than I thought.”
“Then believe him.”
I helped her place the silver locket around her neck.
Inside were two tiny photographs.
One showed Olivia's late mother holding her as a child.
The other showed Matthew on their wedding day.
Olivia touched both pictures.
“I miss them so much.”
I squeezed her hand.
“You don't have to stop missing them to build a happy life.”
For a moment, she simply cried.
Then she reached for my fingers.
“Claire, will you promise me something?”
“Anything I can.”
“If I get frightened again, remind me that I don't have to agree with Vanessa just to keep the peace.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“I promise.”
That evening, Nora returned with news about the questionable laboratory result.
San Marco's laboratory had confirmed that no sample corresponding to the alleged test had been collected from Olivia.
The result appeared to have been inserted into her electronic record through an administrative process rather than generated by the laboratory system.
That meant the entry could not be treated as a legitimate test result.
Nora had arranged for the hospital's legal department to preserve the underlying records and audit history.
“It's significant evidence,” she told us.
“But we need to understand who inserted it and why.”
Luca was standing beside the window.
“Vanessa knew the hospital would believe the record.”
“Someone wanted the court to believe it, too,” Nora answered.
Olivia covered her mouth.
“She was trying to make them think I would hurt my baby.”
Nobody contradicted her.
Then Nora took another document from her briefcase.
“I found something else.”
She looked toward Olivia.
“Did Matthew ever tell you he intended to change the trustee responsible for your daughter's inheritance?”
Olivia shook her head.
“No.”
“He specifically chose Eleanor Brooks because she wasn't connected to either family.”
Nora nodded.
“That's what his original trust says.”
She placed a second document beside it.
“This is a purported amendment recently submitted by Grant Mercer's office.”
The amendment attempted to replace Eleanor with a company associated with Mercer.
It also referred to Vanessa as a prospective guardian who could request access to trust funds for the child's care.
Olivia frowned.
“Matthew never mentioned any of that.”
“There's a reason I'm concerned,” Nora said.
She pointed to the signature block.
There, in black ink, was Matthew Reid's name.
The date beside it was six months after his death.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Olivia made a sound I will never forget.
It wasn't a scream.
It was the broken, helpless sound of someone watching her husband's memory being used against her.
“He's dead,” she whispered.
“Matthew was already dead.”
Luca gripped the back of a chair.
“Mercer submitted a document signed by a dead man?”
Nora kept her voice calm.
“He submitted a copy purporting to bear Matthew's signature on an impossible date.”
She explained that the trust's existing records and Matthew's death certificate could help establish the document's falsity.
Investigators would also need to examine who prepared and submitted it.
I stared at the page.
The handwriting was carefully imitated.
Whoever had done it had spent time studying Matthew's signature.
They hadn't merely stolen an inheritance.
They had reached into the grave and stolen a dead man's name.
Olivia looked at Nora.
“Can they really take everything he left our daughter?”
“Not simply by filing these papers,” Nora reassured her.
“The independent trustee is aware of the dispute, and the questionable amendment is being challenged.”
Luca slowly approached his sister.
“I thought giving you money and security meant I was protecting you.”
Olivia looked up.
“You did protect me before Vanessa came.”
He shook his head.
“I stopped paying attention.”
She reached for his hand.
“I needed my brother, Luca.”
His expression crumpled.
“I know.”
For the first time, he didn't try to explain or defend himself.
He simply sat beside her and apologized.
Later that night, when Olivia had finally fallen asleep, I went downstairs to buy coffee.
The hospital cafeteria was almost empty.
Snow had begun falling beyond the windows.
I was approaching the elevators when someone stepped out of the shadows near the parking garage entrance.
I recognized his expensive gray coat immediately.
Daniel Voss.
He looked nothing like the polished assistant who usually greeted visitors at the Moretti mansion.
His face was pale.
His hands shook.
And there was a dark bruise beneath one eye.
“Claire,” he whispered.
I backed away.
“Stay where you are.”
He raised both hands.
“Please, I didn't come to hurt you.”
“Then why are you here?”
Daniel glanced toward the elevator.
“Because Vanessa is going to blame everything on me.”
My heart pounded.
“Did you block Olivia's calls?”
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The single word made me feel physically sick.
Then he pulled a second phone from his coat pocket.
“I have the messages she sent me.”
He swallowed.
“And there's something Luca needs to know before the hearing.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
May you like
Daniel's voice broke.
“Vanessa told me that once the baby was born, Olivia would never be allowed to bring her home.”
