Chapter 12 - THE ENVELOPE
The police searched Lewis.
His car.
His apartment.
His locker.
No page nine.
Margaret stopped answering calls.
Her attorney claimed she was “resting.”
Charlotte didn’t believe it.
At noon, she returned to Sebastian’s hospital room.
He looked stronger.
Not strong.
But stronger.
She placed the financial records on his bed.
“You should’ve listened to Mom.”
Sebastian looked through them.
“I know.”
“That doesn’t fix anything.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“It doesn’t.”
Charlotte sat.
For once, neither of them fought.
Sebastian touched Olivia’s handwriting.
“I loved her.”
Charlotte’s eyes filled.
“Then why did you let her leave?”
“Because I was proud.”
“That’s not an excuse.”
“It’s the truth.”
He stared at the page.
“I thought she would come back when she needed me.”
“She thought you’d come after her.”
Sebastian closed his eyes.
Two stubborn people.
Twenty-five stolen years.
Charlotte suddenly understood how families broke.
Not always with one huge betrayal.
Sometimes with two people waiting for the other one to knock first.
Sebastian opened his eyes.
“What did page nine say?”
“I don’t know.”
Charlotte reached into her bag.
The golden invitation touched her fingers.
She pulled it out.
Something about the old envelope bothered her.
Her mother had saved it before Sebastian ever contacted Charlotte.
Why?
She examined the paper.
The envelope was thicker than normal.
She tore the inner seam.
Sebastian watched.
A tiny folded sheet slid out.
Charlotte stopped breathing.
Page nine.
Her mother had hidden it there years ago.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She unfolded it.
Olivia’s handwriting covered both sides.
Charlotte read aloud.
“Margaret isn’t stealing for herself. She’s using foundation money to buy debt tied to Valle Hotels.”
Sebastian sat up.
“What?”
Charlotte continued.
“If Dad dies or loses control, the debt can be converted into equity.”
Sebastian’s face hardened.
“She was trying to take the company.”
“There’s more.”
Charlotte read the final paragraph.
“I confronted Margaret. She said Sebastian had already signed documents giving her emergency authority.”
Sebastian shook his head.
“I never signed that.”
Charlotte kept reading.
“She said it didn’t matter if he remembered signing.”
The room went silent.
Forgery.
Years of planning.
Sebastian looked at Charlotte.
“The emergency petition.”
“Exactly.”
Margaret wasn’t improvising.
She had been building toward this.
Then Sebastian’s lawyer called.
Charlotte answered.
“What happened?”
His voice was tight.
“You need to get to the hotel.”
“Why?”
“Margaret filed the emergency authority documents.”
“We know they’re fake.”
“That’s not the problem.”
“What is?”
“They’ve already been accepted.”
Charlotte stood.
The lawyer continued.
“As of twelve minutes ago, Margaret Wren has temporary control of Valle Hotels.”
Sebastian stared at her.
Charlotte lowered the phone.
Then the television in the hospital room changed to breaking news.
Margaret stood at a podium in the Valle Grand lobby.
Behind her was the company logo.
“With great sadness,” Margaret said, “I have assumed temporary leadership while Sebastian recovers.”
Charlotte grabbed her coat.
Margaret smiled into the cameras.
“And my first action will be removing unauthorized individuals from all Valle properties.”
Charlotte stopped.
Margaret looked directly into the camera.
“This includes Charlotte Reed.”
Not Valle.
Reed.
A message.
A warning.
A challenge.
Charlotte put on her jacket.
Sebastian looked at her.
“Where are you going?”
May you like
She opened the door.
“To get your hotel back.”
