Chapter 4 - The Signature
By sunrise, Julian had locked down the top floor of the hotel.
Adrian Knox arrived at 1:17 a.m. with two former military intelligence officers and a portable computer lab.
Nobody from hotel security was allowed near them.
Nobody from Julian’s family knew where he was.
At least, that was the theory.
Julian stood in the presidential suite while Adrian examined the photograph Elena had left.
“Real.”
“You’re sure?”
“Paper is seven months old.”
Adrian enlarged the image on a laptop.
“Timestamp metadata matches.”
Julian stared at Marco.
His brother stood beside Elena near the front gate of Julian’s villa.
There was no question.
It was him.
“Find the car.”
Adrian zoomed in.
“Plate is blurred.”
“Enhance it.”
“I’ll try.”
Julian walked toward the windows.
Morning light spread across the city.
He had built half the skyline below him.
Yet somewhere inside his own empire, somebody had hidden his wife.
His phone rang.
His attorney.
“Julian?”
“You’re awake early.”
“I never went to sleep.”
“Why?”
The attorney hesitated.
“We have a problem.”
Julian turned.
“What problem?”
“Marco called an emergency board meeting.”
“When?”
“Ten.”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
Julian laughed once.
“What for?”
“Temporary restructuring.”
The room became still.
“Explain.”
“There’s a document.”
“What document?”
“A transfer agreement.”
Julian thought of Elena’s call.
“You don’t own Rossi International anymore.”
His voice lowered.
“Whose signature?”
Another pause.
“Yours.”
Julian’s face went blank.
“I never signed anything.”
“I know.”
“How much?”
“Forty-one percent of your voting position.”
Julian almost stopped breathing.
“To whom?”
“A holding company.”
“Which one?”
“Bellweather Capital.”
Julian knew the name.
Private.
Quiet.
Registered in Luxembourg.
He had seen it in acquisitions.
“Owner?”
“Still tracing.”
Adrian looked up from the laptop.
Julian put the call on speaker.
“When was the transfer signed?”
His attorney answered.
“December third.”
Julian looked at the photograph.
December third.
The day Marco met Elena.
“What else?”
“There’s a witness signature.”
Julian already knew.
“Whose?”
“Elena Rossi.”
Silence.
Adrian slowly stood.
Julian stared at the city.
His wife had signed the document that could strip him of his company.
She had disappeared the same day.
The next morning, a truck almost killed him.
“Send me everything.”
“I already did.”
Julian opened the file.
There it was.
His forged signature.
Below it was Elena’s.
Real.
He knew every curve of her handwriting.
He knew the way she crossed the R.
The way she tilted the final i.
Adrian read over his shoulder.
“Looks like she signed voluntarily.”
Julian looked at him.
“She didn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because someone threatened to kill me.”
Adrian said nothing.
Julian scrolled.
Page nine.
Page twelve.
Page sixteen.
Then he stopped.
A clause.
If Julian Rossi died or became permanently incapacitated within twelve months of the transfer, Bellweather Capital would acquire the remaining controlling interest automatically.
Adrian read it twice.
“Well.”
Julian looked at him.
“They weren’t trying to steal my company.”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“They were planning for you to die.”
At 7:03 a.m., one of Adrian’s men entered.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“Vale’s office.”
Julian followed him downstairs.
Henry Vale had been confined to a conference room.
His office was searched under authority granted by the hotel’s majority ownership group.
Inside a locked drawer, they found a second phone.
Only four contacts.
One was Elena.
One was a burner number.
One belonged to a security contractor.
The fourth made Julian feel physically cold.
Marco Rossi.
Julian stared at the screen.
Adrian leaned against the desk.
“That’s enough for questions.”
“No.”
Julian looked toward the conference room.
“I don’t want questions.”
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
They entered together.
Henry Vale sat at the table.
His confidence had disappeared.
Julian placed the phone in front of him.
Henry’s eyes dropped.
“You have one opportunity.”
“I want an attorney.”
“You can have twenty.”
Julian sat across from him.
“But first, you are going to tell me where my wife is.”
Henry smiled faintly.
That was another mistake.
“You really don’t know?”
Julian leaned forward.
“Know what?”
Henry’s smile widened.
“She isn’t hiding from us anymore.”
He looked toward the window.
“She’s hiding from you.”
Julian did not move.
Henry continued.
“Ask her what she did the night before she disappeared.”
Julian’s stomach tightened.
“What did she do?”
Henry sat back.
“I think you should ask your wife.”
Before Julian could respond, an alarm sounded.
Adrian checked his radio.
A voice shouted through static.
“Vehicle breach.”
Julian stood.
“What vehicle?”
“Black sedan.”
“Location?”
“Service exit.”
Julian ran.
By the time he reached the loading dock, the gate was open.
A black Mercedes was already disappearing onto the avenue.
One of Adrian’s men stood beside the curb.
“They took someone.”
Julian stopped.
“Who?”
May you like
The man looked at him.
“Your wife.”
