Chapter 6: The Signature of a Dead Woman
Dad didn't speak for several seconds.
He stood in the kitchen holding his phone, staring at the wall.
Rhonda watched him with a strange expression.
It wasn't triumph.
It was anticipation.
As if she had been waiting for this exact moment.
"Captain Hale," Dad finally said, "I want copies of every document submitted against me.""
"We've already sent them to your personal email.""
"Who submitted them?""
"Your wife.""
Dad looked at Rhonda.
"Anything else?""
"Yes. Your employment has been suspended pending an investigation. You're not permitted to return to the offshore facility until further notice.""
Dad closed his eyes.
"Understood.""
The call ended.
I reached for his arm.
"Dad?""
He looked at me.
"I'm okay.""
He wasn't.
I could see it in his face.
For twenty years, he'd worked offshore. He'd endured storms, dangerous machinery, twelve-hour shifts, and weeks away from his family.
Now someone had turned his entire career into a weapon.
Rhonda picked up her handbag.
"I suppose this is the part where you blame me.""
Dad looked at her.
"You submitted a document with Lisa's signature.""
Rhonda shrugged.
"I don't know what you're talking about.""
"You heard the call.""
"I heard a man making accusations.""
"Why would Lisa's signature be on a company document?""
"Maybe because she signed it before she died.""
Dad's expression hardened.
"Seven years ago?""
"People sign documents in advance.""
I stared at her.
"Mom didn't work for the oil company.""
Rhonda turned toward me.
"Go upstairs.""
"No.""
Her mouth tightened.
"Excuse me?""
"I'm eighteen. You don't get to order me around anymore.""
Dad placed a hand on my shoulder.
"She's right.""
Rhonda laughed.
"Wonderful. Now you're both against me.""
Dad walked to the kitchen table and opened his laptop.
"Let's see what they sent.""
He entered his password.
The first email contained a PDF.
The subject line read:
*URGENT — EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT AND UNAUTHORIZED ASSET TRANSFER.*
He opened it.
There were six pages.
The first contained a maintenance report.
The second was a transfer authorization.
The third was a copy of a company resolution.
The fourth showed a signature.
Lisa Ellis.
My mother's name.
I leaned closer.
It looked real.
Not just similar.
It was exactly how she used to sign birthday cards.
The same long L.
The same small curve beneath the final S.
Dad enlarged the document.
His face turned pale.
"That's her signature.""
I stared at him.
"Could someone have copied it?""
"Of course.""
He opened another page.
It contained a statement claiming that Lisa had authorized a transfer of certain company shares into a private trust.
The date was seven years earlier.
Four months before she died.
I looked at the document.
"Was she allowed to do that?""
Dad shook his head.
"Your mother never worked for Gulf Meridian. She had no authority over my employment or company assets.""
"Then why is her signature there?""
He didn't answer.
I scrolled down.
At the bottom was a witness signature.
Mason Pike.
I felt my stomach twist.
"He's involved.""
Dad nodded.
"Apparently.""
Rhonda crossed her arms.
"Maybe you should stop digging, Daniel.""
He looked up.
"Why?""
"Because you're making this worse.""
Dad stood.
"No. Someone forged my signature, stole my daughter's inheritance, and submitted a document using my dead wife's name. I'm done pretending this is a misunderstanding.""
Rhonda's face hardened.
"You think you can prove that?""
Dad looked at the screen.
"Yes.""
He picked up his phone.
"Because I know someone who can.""
He dialed a number.
The call went to voicemail.
Dad left a message.
"Robert, it's Daniel Ellis. I need the original maintenance reports from March, the safety inspection logs, and every authorization submitted under my employee number. Someone is using my identity. I need the records preserved immediately.""
He hung up.
Then he looked at me.
"Get your things.""
"Where are we going?""
"To Karen's.""
Rhonda stepped in front of the hallway.
"No.""
Dad stared at her.
"Move.""
"This is my house too.""
"Then stay in it.""
"You can't take Madison.""
Dad's voice dropped.
"Watch me.""
Rhonda moved aside.
But as we walked past, she leaned close to my ear.
"You think you're winning, sweetheart?""
I kept walking.
She whispered:
"Ask your father why he never told you what happened the night your mother died.""
I stopped.
Dad turned.
"What did you say?""
Rhonda smiled.
"Nothing.""
I looked at him.
"Dad?""
He shook his head.
"Not now, baby.""
That answer frightened me more than anything else.
We left the house ten minutes later.
Dad drove his old pickup.
The truck smelled like motor oil and the peppermint gum he always kept in the glove compartment.
For the first twenty minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been eating at me.
"What happened the night Mom died?""
Dad tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Rhonda is trying to upset you.""
"She said you never told me.""
He looked out the windshield.
"Your mother was very sick, Madison.""
"I know.""
"Things happened quickly.""
"I know that too.""
He swallowed.
"There's something about the last week of her life that I've never talked about.""
I waited.
"Your mother asked me to sign some papers. I refused.""
"Why?""
"Because I didn't understand them.""
"What papers?""
"Documents related to her grandfather's company shares.""
I stared at him.
"Why would she ask you to sign them?""
"She wanted to make sure everything went into the trust.""
"Then why didn't you?""
Dad's eyes glistened.
"Because I thought she was confused. She was on medication, and the doctors had warned us about her condition.""
He paused.
"She got angry with me.""
I looked down at my hands.
"Was that why you argued?""
Dad nodded.
"She told me I needed to trust her.""
"And?""
"I told her we'd discuss it when she was feeling better.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"But she never got better.""
He shook his head.
"No.""
For a moment, the only sound was the tires rolling over the road.
Then Dad spoke again.
"Madison, I loved your mother. I would have done anything for her.""
"I know.""
"But I made mistakes.""
He glanced at me.
"And I think Rhonda knows more about those mistakes than she's admitting.""
We arrived at Aunt Karen's house just after noon.
Karen opened the door before Dad even knocked.
She wrapped her arms around me.
"Oh, sweetheart.""
I held on tightly.
For the first time in two days, I felt safe.
Dad went straight to the dining room and spread the documents across the table.
Karen brought coffee.
Then she noticed the photograph of Mom.
"Where did you get this?""
"From Dad's office.""
Karen picked it up.
Her expression changed.
"Daniel, you need to see this.""
Dad looked over.
"What?""
She pointed to the building in the background.
"That's Peachtree Coastal Trust.""
"We know.""
"No," Karen said.
"Look at the woman standing beside Lisa.""
I leaned closer.
The photograph showed Mom smiling beside a woman with short dark hair.
Karen tapped the woman's face.
"That's Evelyn Brooks.""
I nodded.
"The trustee.""
Karen looked at Dad.
"There's something you both need to know.""
She sat down.
"Your mother didn't establish that trust alone.""
Dad frowned.
"What do you mean?""
"Her grandfather established the original structure decades earlier. Lisa inherited the controlling interest when her father died.""
I stared at her.
"Mom never told me she had a grandfather with that much money.""
"She didn't like talking about it.""
Karen turned toward Dad.
"And there was another person involved.""
"Who?""
"Your father's business partner.""
Dad looked confused.
"Which business partner?""
Karen reached into her handbag and pulled out an old photograph.
It showed three men standing beside a small coastal office building.
One was a younger version of my father.
The second was an older man I didn't recognize.
The third was Mason Pike.
I stared.
"That's him.""
Dad picked up the photograph.
His expression changed.
"Where did you get this?""
"Lisa gave it to me before she died.""
Dad looked at the date.
2008.
I did the math.
"Why was Mason working with you?""
Dad rubbed his face.
"He wasn't.""
Karen shook her head.
"Daniel, look at the man in the middle.""
Dad studied the photograph.
Then he whispered a name.
"Thomas Whitaker.""
"Who is he?"" I asked.
Dad placed the picture on the table.
"Your mother's grandfather's attorney.""
Karen nodded.
"He handled the original trust documents.""
I looked between them.
"Why is Mason standing with him?""
Karen's voice became quiet.
"Because Mason wasn't a private investigator when Lisa first met him.""
"What was he?""
Dad answered.
"An accountant.""
He stared at the photograph.
"And he was the man responsible for managing the company's original share records.""
I felt sick.
The same man who had entered our house.
The same man who had tried to take my mother's letter.
The same man who had been discussing my father with Rhonda.
He had been connected to my mother's inheritance for years.
Karen reached into her handbag again.
This time, she pulled out a small envelope.
It was yellowed with age.
My name was written across the front.
Madison.
My hands trembled.
"What's that?""
Karen looked at Dad.
"Lisa gave it to me the night before she died. She told me not to open it unless someone tried to interfere with the trust.""
I stared at her.
"Why didn't you give it to me before?""
"Because I didn't know whether the trust had been touched.""
She placed it in front of me.
"Now I do.""
I opened it.
Inside was a single page.
My mother's handwriting.
Madison,
If Mason Pike ever comes looking for you, do not trust anything he says.
I looked at Dad.
He was staring at the page.
Then I read the next sentence.
He knows what happened to your grandfather's original shares, and he knows who helped him move them.
There was a final line.
The person who helped him was someone I loved and trusted.
I slowly looked up.
Dad's face had lost all its color.
"Who?"" I whispered.
Karen reached across the table and turned the page over.
On the back was a name.
*DANIEL ELLIS.*
Nobody moved.
I looked at my father.
He looked at the letter.
Then he whispered:
"Madison, I swear to you, I never stole anything from your mother.""
But before I could answer, Karen's phone rang.
She checked the caller ID.
Her face went white.
"It's Evelyn.""
She answered and placed the phone on speaker.
"Hello?""
Evelyn's voice sounded strained.
"Karen, is Madison with you?""
"Yes. We're all here.""
"Good. I need you to listen carefully.""
"What happened?"" Dad asked.
"Someone entered our Savannah office last night.""
My stomach tightened.
"Did they take anything?"" I asked.
Evelyn paused.
"Yes.""
"What?""
"The original trust ledger. The document showing the ownership history of the shares.""
Dad stood.
"Who did it?""
"We have security footage.""
"Can you identify them?""
Evelyn's voice dropped.
"Yes.""
A pause.
Then she said:
"It was Mason Pike.""
I closed my eyes.
Evelyn continued.
"But that's not the worst part.""
Dad gripped the edge of the table.
"What could be worse?""
"The ledger wasn't the only thing he took.""
My heart began pounding.
"What else?""
Evelyn hesitated.
Then she said:
"He took the original document naming the person who was supposed to inherit the controlling voting rights in Gulf Meridian.""
Dad stared at the phone.
"Who was named?""
Evelyn's answer changed everything.
"Madison Ellis.""
A second later, she added:
"And according to the document he stole, your eighteenth birthday wasn't just the date you inherited the money.""
"It was the date you became the majority voting shareholder.""
I looked at my father.
Then at the photograph.
Then at the letter with his name written on the back.
Suddenly, Rhonda's words made sense.
You won't be needing a car where you're going.
She hadn't been talking about college.
She had been talking about the life they'd planned for me.
And if Evelyn was right, my stepmother hadn't stolen my future just to give Tanner a car.
May you like
She had been trying to steal an entire company.
*And somebody had just stolen the only document that could prove it belonged to me.*
