Chapter 3 - The Signature
I looked at her.
“What did you just say?”
Marjorie shook her head quickly.
“I said this is ridiculous.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You said I shouldn’t have come home.”
Dad turned toward her.
“Marjorie?”
She laughed.
Too loudly.
“Robert, please. Everybody is emotional.”
I held the phone up.
“Did you know about these transfers?”
“No.”
“Did Dale?”
“How would I know?”
“You just warned him with your eyes.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.”
She turned toward Dad.
“Are you really going to stand here and let her accuse me because some stranger sent her a picture?”
Dad didn’t answer.
That scared her more than anything I could have said.
Admiral Keene stepped beside me.
“Natalie.”
I knew that tone.
Stop.
Think.
Don’t turn a bad situation into a worse one.
I took a breath.
Then I looked at Dad.
“Who has access to the foundation accounts?”
“Me. Marjorie. Dale. Our accountant.”
“Anybody else?”
“No.”
“Does your accountant approve transfers?”
Dad shook his head.
“Dale prepares them. I approve them.”
“And these?”
“I’ve never seen them.”
Marjorie threw up her hands.
“Then the picture is fake.”
“Maybe,” I said.
“Exactly.”
“But you’re acting like it isn’t.”
Her eyes narrowed.
The hall doors opened behind us.
People were coming outside.
The ceremony had stopped.
The entire town wanted to know what was happening.
Dad saw them and lowered his voice.
“Not here.”
He led us back inside.
The room fell silent again.
Dad walked directly to the microphone.
“I’m sorry, folks. We’ve had a family matter come up.”
Marjorie touched his arm.
“Robert, don’t.”
He gently removed her hand.
“We’re going to take a short break.”
That hurt her.
I could tell.
My father had spent years avoiding conflict with Marjorie.
Tonight, for once, he had chosen not to follow her lead.
We went into a small office behind the stage.
Dad locked the door.
Then he faced me.
“Start talking.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
He pointed toward the hall.
“An admiral walks into my ceremony and salutes my daughter. He calls her commander. He says she just returned from deployment. Then somebody sends her my financial records.”
“They aren’t your financial records.”
“They have my name on them.”
“Apparently that’s the problem.”
He slammed his palm against the desk.
“Natalie!”
I flinched.
So did he.
Dad rubbed his face.
“I’m sorry.”
I had seen him angry before.
I had never seen him afraid.
He lowered his voice.
“Are you in trouble?”
“No.”
“Are you under investigation?”
“No.”
“Is that why you disappeared?”
“No.”
“Then where have you been?”
I looked at Admiral Keene.
He gave a slight nod.
Not permission.
Just reassurance.
I looked back at Dad.
“For the past eighteen months, I’ve been assigned to Naval Cyber Defense Operations.”
Dad stared at me.
Marjorie laughed.
“Cyber defense?”
I ignored her.
“Our team works on network intrusions, financial tracing, and threat response.”
Dad’s eyes dropped to the phone.
“Financial tracing?”
“Sometimes.”
He understood.
“So the message came from your people?”
“I don’t know.”
Admiral Keene spoke.
“It didn’t come from me.”
That changed everything.
My phone buzzed a third time.
A new message appeared.
THIS ISN’T ABOUT THE FOUNDATION.
A second message arrived.
CHECK YOUR FATHER’S LIFE INSURANCE.
May you like
Dad stared at the screen.
Marjorie stopped breathing.
