Chapter 6 - The Signature Trap
Thomas placed the phone on speaker.
Conrad breathed heavily on the other end.
“Robert?”
“This is Thomas.”
The line went silent.
Thomas leaned against the desk.
“What second set of trust papers?”
Conrad cleared his throat.
“There has been a misunderstanding.”
“You were leaving my property with documents bearing my forged signature.”
“I did not create that signature.”
“Who did?”
Conrad did not answer.
Detective Mara Ellis’s voice came through the phone.
“Mr. Thomas, this is Detective Ellis.”
“We stopped Mr. Pike three miles from the estate.”
“He has documents connected to accounts in your children’s names.”
Thomas looked toward Samuel and Jacob.
“What documents?”
“Requests to remove you as trustee.”
Rebecca grabbed her father’s hand.
Detective Ellis continued.
“The requests claim you are financially unstable and emotionally unfit.”
Thomas’s face hardened.
Robert walked toward the phone.
“Those were emergency preparations.”
Thomas raised one finger, warning him to stay back.
Detective Ellis heard Robert’s voice.
“Is Robert present?”
“Yes.”
“Do not allow him access to the office computer or financial records.”
“The computer is missing.”
A pause followed.
“We found a laptop in Mr. Pike’s car.”
Robert closed his eyes briefly.
Detective Ellis continued.
“We are returning to the estate.”
Thomas ended the call.
Robert straightened his jacket.
“This is a private dispute.”
Peter blocked the doorway.
“You stole our money.”
Robert glared at him.
“I invested it.”
“In what?”
“In opportunities you were too cowardly to understand.”
Denise entered behind Peter.
“What happened to my retirement fund?”
Robert looked at her with disgust.
“You begged me to increase it.”
“You promised it was guaranteed by Thomas.”
“It would have been if he had signed.”
Thomas looked around the room.
“So that was the plan.”
“Use my reputation.”
“Take their money.”
“Lose it.”
“Then forge a guarantee and seize my children’s trust to cover the hole.”
Helen stepped closer to him.
“We did not want the children’s money.”
“You listed it as collateral.”
“Only temporarily.”
Rebecca looked at her grandmother.
“You made us work because I saw the papers.”
Helen ignored her.
Thomas did not.
He crouched beside Rebecca.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Rebecca drew a slow breath.
“I opened the office door.”
“Grandpa and the lawyer were standing by the desk.”
“The yellow envelope was open.”
“I saw Samuel’s name.”
“I picked it up because I thought it was something from school.”
“Grandpa grabbed it.”
Thomas touched her shoulder.
“Did he hurt you?”
“He squeezed my arm.”
Robert shook his head.
“I moved her away from confidential documents.”
Rebecca continued.
“Grandma said I was nosy like Mom.”
Thomas looked at Helen.
Rebecca’s voice became smaller.
“Then she told Cole to take us to the pantry.”
Samuel stared at the floor.
“Cole said we could come out if we worked.”
Jacob held up his hands.
His fingers were red from cleaning.
Thomas’s anger became visible for the first time.
He walked toward Robert.
“You punished three children to hide financial crimes.”
Robert did not step back.
“I protected this family from your daughter’s reckless behavior.”
Thomas stopped inches away.
“My daughter exposed you.”
A police siren sounded beyond the gate.
Helen grabbed Thomas’s sleeve.
“Do not do this.”
He looked at her hand until she released him.
“You already did it.”
Nolan’s radio crackled.
“Mr. Thomas, we have another problem.”
“What?”
“The security cameras were remotely erased.”
Thomas looked at the empty space where the office computer had been.
Nolan continued.
May you like
“The deletion command came from a phone still inside the estate.”
Every person in the room slowly looked at Helen.
