Chapter 2 - The Red Seal
I stared at the security monitor as Vanessa Cole tapped the manila folder against the heavy wood of my door.
"Open up, Claire," Vanessa’s voice purred through the speaker.
"Or the sheriff’s deputies downstairs will gladly take an axe to your father’s vintage mahogany."
My attorney, Miriam Shaw, was already on the second line of my encrypted cell.
"Do not unlock that door under any circumstances," Miriam commanded into my ear.
"Vanessa filed an emergency ex-parte petition with Judge Sterling twenty minutes ago."
"She is claiming you are sabotaging a federally regulated defense contractor out of marital spite."
I kept my eyes fixed on the monitor.
Daniel stood behind Vanessa like an obedient golden retriever, refusing to look directly into the camera.
"What did Daniel sign, Miriam?" I asked quietly.
There was a heavy pause on the other end of the line.
"Three years ago, Daniel took out a corporate mezzanine loan against the family trust to fund the drone tech prototype."
"He used a general durable power of attorney that bore your notarized signature."
A cold knot tightened in my stomach.
I had never signed a power of attorney for Daniel in my entire life.
He had forged my name while I was grieving my father’s funeral.
Outside the door, Vanessa held up a single legal document directly in front of the lens.
My father’s original crest was stamped at the top of the page.
Beneath it was my signature, penned in dark blue ink, transferring sixty percent of my executive voting rights to the chief operating officer in the event of corporate insolvency.
By freezing the operating accounts twenty minutes ago, I had technically triggered the insolvency clause myself.
"You walked right into our trap, darling," Vanessa called out through the door, her laugh sharp and theatrical.
"Daniel was never the brains of this operation, Claire."
"He was simply the key that unlocked your father's vault."
Daniel looked down at his shoes, his jaw twitching with guilt.
"Claire, just sign the unfreeze waiver," Daniel muttered, his voice muffled by the wood.
"Vanessa promised I'd get twenty percent of the restructured subsidiary if you cooperate."
"We can still walk away from this with our dignity."
I looked at the framed portrait of my father hanging in the foyer.
He had built Whitmore Dynamics with his bare hands while Daniel was still failing entry-level accounting.
I pressed the intercom button once more.
"Vanessa," I said softly.
"What?" the CEO replied, leaning close to the speaker.
May you like
"You forgot to read the fine print on page forty-seven."
Vanessa's smug grin vanished, and she quickly flipped open the manila folder in the hallway.
