Chapter 4 - THE SIGNATURE
Gabriel didn't reach for the folder.
“Which warehouse?”
“South Pier Fourteen.”
His expression changed just enough for Rose to notice.
“You know it.”
“I owned the holding company.”
“Then start there.”
Ada spread the pages across the worktable.
Gabriel read standing up.
For once, no one offered him a chair.
The warehouse had been leased to Whitmore Shipping.
Payments had moved through a smaller company, Wren Holdings, before reaching one of Gabriel's businesses.
Rose was listed as Wren's sole owner.
“I've never even heard of it,” she said.
Gabriel studied the signature.
“Did Richard ever give you papers to sign?”
“All the time.
Insurance forms.
School forms.
Things he said were routine.”
She hated how young that sounded.
“Not this,” she added.
“That date is wrong.”
Ada produced a second sheet.
“This is why I kept digging.”
It was part of an email Daniel had printed before his death.
He had questioned missing cargo, false weights, and repeated charges for storage that never occurred.
His last line was underlined in pen.
I won't approve another transfer until Richard explains the discrepancy.
Gabriel called Cole.
“Get every record we have for Pier Fourteen.
Preserve the originals.
Nothing gets deleted, including messages.”
Rose watched him.
“Can your people make those records disappear?”
“Yes.”
“That's a terrible answer.”
“It's the true one.”
She took Ada's phone and searched for a lawyer.
Gabriel offered a name.
Rose ignored it.
An overnight answering service connected her to an attorney named Lena Ortiz, who listened without interrupting.
“Keep the documents,” Lena said.
“Don't sign anything else.
And don't let anyone negotiate on your behalf tonight.”
Rose looked directly at Gabriel.
“I won't.”
Near dawn, Cole arrived with Rose's purse, a coat, and a sealed envelope found among the wedding documents.
Her phone had thirty-seven missed calls.
All from her father.
None from her mother.
Inside the envelope was a financial declaration bearing another copy of Rose's signature.
Gabriel read the first page and swore softly.
“What?” she demanded.
He turned it around.
The document said she had personally approved every Wren transfer.
It was dated that morning.
May you like
Beneath it sat a typed instruction for the wedding staff.
Obtain bride's signature before ceremony.
