Chapter 4 - A Signature
Owen agreed to meet me in Manhattan. Chloe came with me because the affidavit had been included in a packet sent to her family’s attorneys.
In the car, she called her father and said only that our flight was canceled. He wanted a reason. She told him he would get one after she’d read the paperwork herself.
Owen waited in his office with a document laid flat on the conference table.
AFFIDAVIT REGARDING PRIOR PERSONAL CLAIMS.
It stated that I had been informed of Valerie’s pregnancy in 2023, had asked for a paternity test, and had chosen not to pursue a relationship after the result excluded me.
My name was signed at the bottom.
“I’ve never seen this,” I said.
Owen looked exhausted. “Richard gave it to our corporate team. I saw it for the first time this morning.”
“Why is it in a corporate packet?”
Chloe pointed to a paragraph halfway down the page. “The sale requires me and Carter to disclose any family matters that could lead to a claim against a Sterling family trust.”
“There’s no test result,” Owen said. “I requested it. Your father told me it was sealed.”
I took a photo of every page, then looked at the notary line. The stamp belonged to a woman named Dana Price. Her office was in Richmond.
“I’m calling Valerie,” I said.
Owen held up a hand. “First, understand what Richard may do. If he submitted a false affidavit, he has every reason to insist Valerie is lying.”
“She has letters.”
“Then she should keep them someplace safe.”
Valerie answered on the third ring. I told her about the document. For several seconds, I heard only traffic on her end.
“He said you knew,” she finally said.
“He lied.”
“He showed me a letter that said you wanted no contact. It had your signature.”
My throat tightened. “Do you still have it?”
“Yes.”
“Please give a copy to your lawyer.”
“I already have.”
I closed my eyes. She’d had to think about lawyers while Lucy was an infant. I’d spent those months believing my father had saved me from a mistake.
Owen’s assistant knocked and handed him a printout from the office scanner. He read it, then passed it to me.
The affidavit had been scanned into the sale packet at 8:14 p.m. the night before my wedding.
The login belonged to Chloe.
She stared at the page. “I didn’t scan it.”
Owen checked again. “It came from your guest account.”
May you like
Chloe reached for her phone. “My mother borrowed my laptop at the estate.”
Then she opened her wedding photos. In one image, taken just before the ceremony, her mother sat alone at a table with Chloe’s open laptop—and Richard leaning over her shoulder.
