Chapter 10 - The Husband Who Never Read the PapersAdam found the old photograph in a drawer at Whitcomb Development's headquarters.
It showed him and Vanessa at their wedding.
They stood beneath white roses on the Wrenwood terrace.
Daisy wore a pale-pink dress and held the yellow wooden fox.
Brielle stood beside her.
Adam remembered how proudly he had introduced them as his two girls.
He remembered Vanessa lifting Brielle and telling Daisy that they were all one family now.
Most painfully, he remembered believing her.
His office assistant, Margaret Ellis, entered quietly.
“Mr. Whitcomb? Ms. Park is here.”
Adam placed the photograph facedown.
Nina entered carrying a document folder.
“We need to talk about the September authorizations.”
Adam nodded.
They sat across from each other.
Nina placed three forms on his desk.
One was a legitimate request for environmental and valuation work related to Wrenwood.
Another contained a draft business loan agreement.
The third purported to authorize a transfer of the north woods.
“Do you recognize them?” she asked.
Adam studied the first document.
“Yes. I remember this one.”
He had signed permission for surveyors to inspect parts of the property.
He had thought it would help determine whether unused land could produce income through a carefully managed lease.
Ruth had objected to even considering a transaction before a full review.
He had accused her of treating him like a child.
“Did you send it to Ruth?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Adam stared at the desk.
“Because I knew she'd argue with me.”
Nina waited.
“Vanessa said we could gather information first and explain later.”
“And you agreed.”
“Yes.”
Nina moved to the second document.
Adam recognized parts of the loan proposal, although several schedules were unfamiliar.
He remembered signing a page authorizing Miles to seek refinancing.
But he did not remember seeing language connecting the loan to Wrenwood.
“I thought this was about my company.”
“That's what you were told?”
“Yes.”
Nina leaned forward.
“Adam, I need you to be precise. If you signed something negligently, say so. If the document has been altered, we'll investigate. But don't turn uncertainty into denial.”
He exhaled.
“I signed papers without reading them. I trusted Vanessa to organize them and Miles to make them legal.”
“That's a serious mistake.”
“I know.”
“It's not the same thing as intentionally participating in a fraud.”
Adam looked at the third document.
The signature resembled his.
But the date was a day he had been attending a construction inspection in North Carolina.
His calendar, travel records, and witnesses could confirm his location.
The signature itself might have been applied electronically from anywhere.
“I never authorized selling Daisy's land.”
Nina nodded.
“Then that's what we can support with the available evidence.”
Margaret knocked.
“Mr. Harlan is downstairs.”
Adam's jaw tightened.
“Tell him to leave.”
Nina raised a hand.
“Wait.”
She considered the situation.
“If you decide to speak to him, I want to be present.”
Miles entered five minutes later.
He wore a charcoal suit and carried a leather portfolio.
“Adam,” he said warmly. “I'm worried about you.”
Adam did not stand.
“Sit down.”
Miles glanced at Nina.
“Counsel?”
“Yes,” she answered.
Miles smiled.
“Then I'll assume this isn't a friendly conversation.”
“It isn't,” Adam said.
He slid the third document across the desk.
“Did you prepare this?”
Miles glanced at it.
“My firm assisted with preliminary materials.”
“Did I approve it?”
“The electronic record shows your authorization.”
“I'm asking whether you personally know I approved selling the land.”
Miles paused.
“Adam, the documents speak for themselves.”
“Who owns Vantage Bridge?”
“I can't disclose confidential client information.”
“Is Vanessa involved?”
Miles's smile disappeared.
Nina watched carefully.
Adam leaned forward.
“My four-year-old daughter was locked in a cage and left in the woods. Someone disabled my security cameras and forwarded the notice to your office. And you want to talk to me about confidentiality?”
Miles stood.
“I don't appreciate threats.”
“Then answer the question.”
“I've advised your family for years.”
Adam rose.
“You advised me. You didn't own me.”
Miles collected his portfolio.
Before leaving, he turned toward Adam.
“You should be very careful. If this becomes a public fight, your decisions will be examined too.”
Adam said nothing.
Miles continued.
“Your signature is on several documents you now claim not to remember. Eleanor was not the only person who understood the risks you were taking.”
Then he left.
Nina waited until the elevator doors closed.
“He's telling you that he has information that could hurt you,” she said.
Adam nodded.
“And some of it may be true.”
“What do you want to do?”
Adam looked at the wedding photograph.
For months he had been thinking about saving his company, his marriage, and his reputation.
Now he thought about Daisy sitting behind metal bars.
“I want everything examined.”
“Even your own mistakes?”
“Especially those.”
Nina nodded.
“That gives us somewhere to begin.”
That evening she received a call from a former employee of Miles's law firm.
The woman refused to identify herself immediately.
She said only that she had seen records connected to the Wrenwood transaction.
Nina asked what kind.
There was a long silence.
Then the woman answered.
“Documents prepared before Adam Whitcomb ever met Vanessa.”
Nina gripped the phone.
May you like
“Why would that matter?”
“Because someone was already trying to get that forest out of Eleanor's hands.”
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