Chapter 6: The Forged Signature
I looked at Derek.
He looked at Victor.
Victor looked at both of us as if he had already seen this scene play out in his head a hundred times.
“Tell her,” Victor said.
Derek shook his head.
“I can't.””
“You can.””
“I said I can't.””
Victor's expression remained perfectly calm.
“Then I will.””
I stepped between them.
“No.””
Both men looked at me.
I held the envelope against my chest.
“If someone forged my signature, I want to hear it from the person who was standing closest to it.””
Derek's face tightened.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain it.””
“I was trying to fix everything.””
“You keep saying that.””
He swallowed.
“But you never tell me what you actually did.””
Victor slipped his hands into his coat pockets.
“I'll give him one chance.””
Derek stared at the ground.
“Six months ago,” he said quietly, “I was out of options.””
I waited.
“My company had defaulted on two loans.””
“How much?””
“Almost a million dollars.””
Victor added, “Eight hundred and ninety thousand.””
Derek nodded.
“I couldn't make payroll. Suppliers were threatening lawsuits. My credit was destroyed.””
“And you came to Victor.””
“Yes.””
“What did he offer?””
“A bridge loan.””
“How much?””
“Six hundred thousand.””
I stared at him.
“You told me your business only needed eighty thousand.””
“I lied.””
“Obviously.””
Derek looked ashamed.
“I thought I could recover.””
“You couldn't.””
“No.””
“What happened next?””
He rubbed his hands together.
“I signed a personal guarantee.””
“And?””
“I used company property as collateral.””
Victor corrected him.
“Company property was not enough.””
Derek nodded.
“So I came back.””
My eyes narrowed.
“What did he want?””
“The house.””
I already knew that part.
“But you didn't own it alone.””
“No.””
“You needed me.””
“Yes.””
I stared at him.
“And you convinced me to sign the debt settlement.””
“Yes.””
“Without telling me the agreement transferred liability for my company.””
“I thought I'd fix it before you discovered it.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You thought you'd fix it before your wife realized you had made her responsible for your debts?””
Derek looked away.
Then I asked the question that had been waiting between us.
“Who forged my signature?””
Derek shut his eyes.
Victor answered.
“Your husband did.””
My stomach dropped.
I looked at Derek.
“No.””
He whispered, “Yes.””
I took a step backward.
“You signed my name?””
“I had no choice.””
“There is always a choice.””
“Not when people are threatening to put you in prison.””
I stared at him.
“Who was threatening you?””
Victor answered.
“The company.””
I looked at him.
“That's not an answer.””
Victor sighed.
“You think I'm the only person your husband owes?””
Derek said nothing.
Victor continued.
“Your husband borrowed from several sources. Some legal. Some less so.””
I felt a chill move down my spine.
“How less so?””
Derek finally met my eyes.
“People who don't send certified letters.””
Victor's voice stayed even.
“I kept those people away from your door.””
“By taking my money?””
“No.””
He looked at me.
“By taking your husband’s money.””
I frowned.
“Then why are you here?””
“Because your husband stopped paying.””
“And now you want my company.””
“Yes.””
“No.””
Victor smiled faintly.
“I suspected you would say that.””
He reached into his coat again and removed another document.
This time, he handed it to me.
I read the heading.
*Notice of Default and Enforcement.*
Below it were several legal clauses.
My company name.
My signature.
A witness certification.
I looked at the witness line.
Then I stopped breathing.
The witness was *Linda Mercer*.
I looked up.
Linda stood in the doorway.
She had gone pale.
“Mom,” Derek whispered.
She didn't answer.
“You witnessed my signature?””
Linda's eyes dropped.
“I didn't know what he was going to do.””
“But you signed.””
“Yes.””
“You watched him forge my name.””
She started crying again.
“I thought I was protecting my son.””
I stared at her.
“You watched him steal from me.””
“I was trying to save the family.””
“What family?””
My voice cracked.
“The family that watched me cook, clean, work, pay bills, and smile while you lied to me?””
Linda lowered her head.
Derek said softly, “Mom, tell her everything.””
Linda looked at him.
“I was going to.””
“When?””
“I don't know.””
“That isn't good enough.””
Victor checked his watch.
“We are running out of time.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“The enforcement period ends today.””
My pulse quickened.
“What happens then?””
“Your company becomes subject to seizure proceedings.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
“How long do I have?””
Victor looked at me.
“Until five o'clock.””
I glanced at the clock inside the foyer.
2:14 p.m.
Less than three hours.
I looked at Derek.
“You knew this?””
“Yes.””
“And you still let me walk back into this house?””
“I thought I could stop it.””
“How?””
He didn't answer.
“You had no plan.””
“No.””
“You only knew how to make me absorb your problems.””
He flinched.
Victor stepped toward me.
“There is a way out.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“Pay the outstanding balance.””
“How much?””
“Four hundred and thirty-two thousand.””
I laughed.
“You want nearly half a million dollars.””
“I want the debt.””
“I don't have four hundred and thirty-two thousand available.””
“You do.””
My face changed.
“The joint account.””
Victor nodded.
“Your husband already moved part of it.””
I looked at Derek.
“How much did you transfer?””
He didn't answer.
“How much?””
“Three hundred and forty thousand.””
My chest tightened.
“Where?””
Derek's silence was answer enough.
I turned to Victor.
“Did he give it to you?””
“Some.””
“How much?””
“One hundred eighty thousand.””
I looked at Linda.
She nodded.
“The rest?””
Victor's eyes moved toward Derek.
“He invested it.””
“In what?””
Victor said nothing.
Derek's face went pale.
“Tell her.””
Derek looked at me.
“I put two hundred thousand into a new project.””
“What project?””
He hesitated.
Then whispered, “Mercer Holdings.””
I felt dizzy.
“Your mother's company.””
“Yes.””
“You put our money into her company?””
“She needed liquidity.””
Linda cried, “Derek, please.””
I ignored her.
“So all this time, you weren't just stealing from me.””
Derek shook his head.
“I was trying to move the money into assets.””
“Assets controlled by your mother.””
“Yes.””
“And the money?””
“Lost.””
I stared at him.
“How much?””
He couldn't speak.
Victor answered.
“All of it.””
Silence.
I looked around my house.
The decorations.
The birthday balloons.
The photographs of Linda smiling in every stage of her life.
A perfect family portrait.
Nothing but a carefully maintained lie.
I turned to Victor.
“Suppose I don't pay.””
“Then I enforce.””
“On my company.””
“Yes.””
“And if I refuse to acknowledge the agreement?””
“Then we go to court.””
“What about the forged signature?””
His expression changed slightly.
“That complicates things.””
“For you?””
“For everyone.””
I looked at Derek.
“Did you forge the signature yourself?””
He nodded.
“How?””
“I copied it.””
“You copied it from what?””
“A check.””
My skin crawled.
“You stole my checkbook?””
“I needed a sample.””
“So you opened my desk.””
“Yes.””
“And Linda witnessed the document.””
“Yes.””
I turned to Linda.
“Why didn't you stop him?””
She wiped her face.
“Because Victor said if I didn't sign as witness, Derek would lose everything.””
“And you believed him?””
“I was afraid.””
“You should have been afraid for me.””
She looked at me.
For the first time, she had nothing to say.
My phone vibrated.
I pulled it out.
A message from Martin.
*MARTIN:* I found something. Call me immediately.
I stepped away from them and called.
He answered on the first ring.
“Megan, where are you?””
“Home.””
“Is Victor Hale there?””
I looked at him.
“Yes.””
Martin swore under his breath.
“Do not sign anything.””
“I haven't.””
“Good.””
“Martin, I know about the forged signature.””
There was a pause.
“What?””
“Derek copied it. Linda witnessed it.””
“Are you certain?””
“Yes.””
“That changes the case.””
“How?””
“The agreement Victor is trying to enforce may be invalid.””
I looked at Victor.
“How confident are you?””
“Very.””
“I found the original transaction history.””
“What did you find?””
“Something interesting.””
I waited.
“Six months ago, before the house transfer, Derek created a second business account.””
My stomach tightened.
“Under what name?””
“Mercer Holdings.””
I closed my eyes.
“We know about that.””
“No.””
Martin's voice became sharper.
“You don't.””
“What?””
“The account wasn't opened by Linda.””
I opened my eyes.
Across the room, Linda was watching me.
Martin continued.
“It was opened by Derek.””
I stared at my husband.
“But Linda owns Mercer Holdings.””
“On paper.””
My blood ran cold.
“Then who controls the account?””
“Derek.””
I slowly lowered my phone.
The room seemed to tilt.
All day, I had believed Linda was the mastermind.
I had believed she had taken our money to protect her company.
But maybe I had been looking at the wrong person.
Derek stood ten feet away.
His expression told me he already knew what Martin had found.
I walked toward him.
“You lied again.””
His face went blank.
“About what?””
“The Mercer Holdings account.””
Linda looked at him.
“What account?””
Derek didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“You opened it.””
Linda stared at her son.
“Derek?””
He looked between us.
“It wasn't supposed to happen like this.””
My voice dropped.
“What wasn't?””
He backed toward the kitchen counter.
“Mom was supposed to take the blame.””
Linda froze.
I felt the world stop.
“What did you say?””
Derek swallowed.
“I never meant for you to find out this way.””
Linda whispered, “Derek…”
He looked at her.
“You signed the papers.””
Then he turned to me.
“And I need you to understand something.””
He took a shaky breath.
“I didn't forge your signature to save my mother.””
I stared at him.
“I forged it because I needed access to your company.””
My heart sank.
“Why?””
Derek looked toward Victor.
Then back at me.
“Because there was something inside your company worth more than the money.””
May you like
He paused.
“And you were never supposed to find out what it was.””
