Chapter 7: The Document in His Hand
The vault door stopped halfway open.
Brandon stood behind it with Mara Whitfield beside him, holding a leather folder against her chest.
But it wasn't the folder that made my blood run cold.
It was the document in Brandon's hand.
A transfer agreement.
My company seal was stamped across the bottom.
My name was printed beneath it.
And beside my name was a signature that looked almost exactly like mine.
Brandon smiled.
“You really should have stayed home this morning.””
My father stepped in front of me.
“Put the document down.””
Brandon laughed.
“Still giving orders, Dominic?””
“You're trespassing.””
“This is a private banking facility.””
“I know.””
“Then you know I have a right to be here.””
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“No. You don't.””
Brandon lifted the document.
“I think the bank might disagree.””
The bank manager stepped forward.
“Mr. Hayes, you need to leave.””
Brandon turned to him.
“Actually, I don't.””
He handed over the document.
The manager read it.
His face changed.
“What is this?””
“A shareholder transfer agreement.””
“Between?””
“Rossi Design Group and Hayes Capital Advisory.””
My stomach dropped.
The manager looked at me.
“Ms. Rossi, is this your signature?””
“No.””
Brandon smiled.
“You're saying that now.””
“I never signed that.””
“Of course you did.””
“You forged it.””
“Careful.””
Dad stepped closer.
“That's enough.””
Brandon's smile disappeared.
“You always thought you were smarter than everyone else.””
“I don't need to be smarter than everyone.””
Dad's voice was calm.
“I just need to know what you're hiding.””
Mara shifted beside Brandon.
Dad looked at her.
“You should have stayed out of this.””
She said nothing.
I stared at her.
“You worked for him.””
She finally looked at me.
“I did.””
“You helped him steal from me.””
“No.””
Brandon snapped, “Mara.””
She flinched.
That tiny movement told me everything.
She wasn't loyal to him.
She was afraid of him.
Dad noticed too.
“Mr. Hayes,” he said, “who forced her?””
Brandon's face hardened.
“Don't play investigator with me.””
“I've been investigating men like you since before you knew how to spell fraud.””
Brandon laughed.
“You're retired.””
“I've been retired for six years.””
Dad stepped closer.
“I didn't say I stopped working.””
The manager looked between them.
“I need to see identification from everyone.””
Brandon handed over his driver's license.
Mara did the same.
Then the manager looked at me.
I gave him mine.
He compared the three.
Then he looked at Mara's.
His expression changed.
“This identification is invalid.””
Mara's face went white.
Brandon turned toward her.
“What?””
The manager held up the card.
“This identification was reported stolen.””
Mara whispered, “That's impossible.””
Brandon grabbed her arm.
She winced.
Dad immediately stepped forward.
“Take your hand off her.””
Brandon released her.
“Don't interfere.””
“You just did.””
Security officers appeared at the end of the corridor.
Brandon looked around.
For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.
He recovered quickly.
“You don't understand.””
I looked at him.
“No.””
I stepped forward.
“I understand perfectly.””
“You think you found some missing money.””
“I found eleven million dollars.””
His jaw tightened.
“And fake companies.””
His silence told me enough.
“And forged signatures.””
“Prove it.””
“I will.””
“You don't have anything.””
Dad smiled.
“We have everything.””
Brandon stared at him.
Then he pulled a second document from the folder.
“You don't.””
He placed it on the counter.
It was a notarized power of attorney.
My name appeared at the top.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
The date was six months earlier.
I stared at it.
“I never signed that.””
Brandon looked at the manager.
“She gave me financial authority six months ago.””
The manager looked uncertain.
Dad picked up the document.
“Who notarized this?””
Brandon didn't answer.
Dad turned it over.
There was a notary stamp.
He read the name.
Then smiled.
“Interesting.””
Brandon's face changed.
“What?””
“The notary died last year.””
Silence.
The manager looked at the stamp again.
Dad handed it back.
“This document is worthless.””
Brandon took one step backward.
Mara whispered, “I told you.””
He turned on her.
“You told me nothing.””
“I told you the documents weren't clean.””
“You were supposed to fix them.””
“I tried.””
Brandon's face became vicious.
“You're the reason we're here.””
Mara looked at me.
“No.””
Her voice shook.
“He is.””
Brandon moved toward her.
Security stepped between them.
My father looked at Mara.
“Tell the truth.””
She stared at the floor.
“Tell her.””
Mara's eyes filled with tears.
“Brandon didn't start this.””
I felt a strange chill.
“What do you mean?””
She looked at my father.
“He inherited the structure.””
Dad's expression changed.
“From whom?””
Mara swallowed.
“His father.””
Brandon shouted, “Mara!””
She ignored him.
“Richard Hayes created the first shell companies.””
My stomach tightened.
“Richard?””
Brandon's father had died four years earlier.
He had always been described as a successful businessman.
Dad looked at me.
“How much did Richard know about your company?””
“I don't know.””
Mara whispered, “Everything.””
She opened the leather folder.
Inside were photographs.
Bank records.
Contracts.
Emails.
A complete organizational chart.
At the center was Rossi Design Group.
Around it were companies I'd never heard of.
Northstar.
Hayes Capital.
Rossi Hospitality Holdings.
Several others.
And one company at the bottom.
I stared at the name.
*Pierce Strategic Consulting.*
Savannah.
I looked at Mara.
“Why was Savannah involved?””
Mara hesitated.
Then she said something that made Brandon close his eyes.
“She wasn't hired to be his mistress.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“She was hired to get close to you.””
The corridor went silent.
Brandon finally spoke.
“That isn't true.””
Mara turned toward him.
“You know it is.””
I felt as though the floor had disappeared.
“You're saying Savannah approached Brandon because of me?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Mara looked at the documents.
“Because you were about to buy the property that Richard Hayes wanted.””
My mind raced.
A luxury hotel project.
Three years earlier, I'd been negotiating to acquire an old Chicago landmark and turn it into a flagship Rossi Design Group property.
The deal collapsed unexpectedly.
Another bidder won.
Hayes Capital.
Brandon had told me it was bad luck.
Now I understood.
He had known.
He had sabotaged me.
Dad looked at Mara.
“How much did they pay Savannah?””
“Two hundred thousand.””
I closed my eyes.
“She spent years with him for two hundred thousand?””
Mara nodded.
“And Brandon?””
“He got access to your company.””
I looked at Brandon.
“Did you ever love me?””
He stared at me.
For a moment, his face softened.
Then it hardened again.
“That stopped mattering a long time ago.””
My chest hurt.
Not because I loved him.
Because I realized I had loved a person who might never have existed.
Dad stepped beside me.
“That's enough.””
He turned to the security officers.
“Call federal investigators.””
Brandon laughed.
“You think they care about a divorce?””
Dad looked at him.
“No.””
He pointed at the documents.
“They care about wire fraud, identity theft, financial crimes, and interstate transfers.””
Brandon's smile vanished.
Dad continued.
“And I have thirty-one years of experience explaining those crimes to prosecutors.””
The manager called security.
Mara suddenly stepped forward.
“Wait.””
Everyone turned.
She looked at me.
“I can prove it.””
“How?””
“There's a recording.””
“Of what?””
“Brandon.””
She reached into her coat.
Pulled out a small flash drive.
“He doesn't know I kept it.””
Brandon lunged.
Security caught him.
The flash drive fell to the floor.
I picked it up.
Brandon stared at me.
His face was no longer confident.
It was terrified.
“What did you record?”” I asked.
May you like
Mara whispered:
“The meeting where Brandon was told to destroy your company.””
