Chapter 5 - THE SIGNATURE
By morning, Luca had learned that a man could own a company and still need permission to access his own money.
His cards had been suspended.
His private email account no longer accepted his password.
The estate’s security system had removed his access.
Vivienne’s attorney called it temporary protection.
Luca called it theft.
His own attorney arrived shortly after nine.
Evelyn Shaw was in her sixties, with a gray braid, a battered leather bag, and no patience for dramatic entrances.
She read the petition standing up.
Then she looked at Luca.
“When did you last speak to a lawyer without your wife present?”
He couldn’t remember.
Evelyn pulled out a chair.
“That changes today.”
Vivienne’s petition relied on an old court order granting her limited guardianship after Luca’s accident, followed by years of reports describing worsening cognition and physical dependence.
Dr. Bell had signed every report.
“He was my rehabilitation physician,” Luca said.
“After the accident.”
“And afterward?” Evelyn asked.
“He kept coming.”
“Did anyone independently assess you?”
Luca looked down.
“I thought they did.”
Maya stood near the window, uncertain whether she should stay.
Evelyn glanced at her.
“You found the pattern?”
“Yes.”
“Then stay.
For now, you’re a witness.”
A hospital evaluator met with Luca that afternoon.
He struggled with dates.
He forgot one of the three words she asked him to remember.
But he understood the allegations, his finances, and the consequences of the decisions before him.
When she left, his hands were shaking.
“I sound like an idiot.”
Maya pulled the blanket straight.
“You sound tired.”
“You don’t have to be kind.”
“I’m not being kind.
You’ve been awake all day answering questions after twelve years of whatever they gave you.”
He watched her.
“Daniel was your younger brother?”
“Older.
By fourteen months.”
“What was he like?”
“Loud.
Terrible at saving money.
He called every Sunday and pretended he needed advice so I’d tell him about my week.”
Luca looked away.
Evelyn returned with copies of the guardianship records.
A photograph of a signature filled one page.
Luca stared.
“What?” Maya asked.
He reached for the paper.
The signature read Luca Moretti.
Below it was a date from the previous winter.
“I didn’t sign this.”
Evelyn leaned forward.
“How can you be sure?”
Luca touched the looping final letter.
“My right wrist was in a cast that month.”
Evelyn’s phone lit up.
May you like
A message from the bank.
A transfer of forty-eight million dollars was scheduled for Friday.
