Chapter 10 - The Woman Who Had Already SignedAt ten o'clock, the family gathered in the library.
Sarah arrived carrying a notebook, her laptop, and a determination she had not felt the previous day.
She was no longer wearing her bridal robe.
Instead, she had chosen dark trousers and a cream blouse.
The transformation was small but significant.
Yesterday, everyone had treated her as a bride whose wedding had gone wrong.
Today, she intended to act as an owner of Rosemere Holdings.
Claire sat beside a stack of documents.
Luke occupied a chair near the window.
Owen stood farther back.
Sarah had not forgiven him for concealing his connection to Brookstone, but she had agreed he could remain while they reviewed the property information.
Victoria arrived last.
She looked exhausted.
"Where's Dad?" Sarah asked.
"At a meeting."
"With whom?"
Victoria hesitated.
"Brookstone's representatives."
Sarah looked at Claire.
"Without telling me?"
"Being the manager doesn't mean he has to report every conversation," Claire said. "But he cannot lawfully dispose of protected company property without the approvals required by the operating agreement."
She opened a binder.
"The LLC's operating agreement states that selling more than two acres or placing a new mortgage above five hundred thousand dollars requires written consent from both Sarah and Victoria."
Sarah nodded.
"Neither of us can authorize it alone."
"Correct."
Claire produced a copy of a document obtained from records Victoria had downloaded before leaving Martin's office.
It was titled Unanimous Member Consent—North Meadow Disposition.
Two signatures appeared on the final page.
Victoria Ellery.
Sarah Ellery.
Sarah stared at the second signature.
It resembled hers.
A graceful capital S.
A long lower loop beneath the surname.
Even the small flourish she sometimes added to formal contracts.
But something was wrong.
"I didn't sign this."
Claire nodded.
"I understand."
Sarah leaned closer.
"The date says April fourteenth."
"Yes."
"I was in Boston that day."
"Can you prove it?"
"I was attending a historic preservation conference. My hotel records and presentation schedule will confirm it."
Claire made a note.
Sarah looked toward Victoria.
"Did you sign?"
Her sister nodded.
"When?"
"April."
"Did you know Dad was presenting this as unanimous consent?"
"I knew he wanted both signatures."
"Did you know I hadn't signed?"
Victoria looked down.
"Yes."
Sarah stared at her.
"You let him proceed anyway?"
"He said your signature was being handled separately."
"You knew I hadn't agreed!"
Victoria's expression twisted.
"I didn't know he'd submit it like that."
Sarah turned away before she said something unforgivable.
Claire raised a hand.
"Let's distinguish what we know from what we suspect. Victoria signed her own consent. Sarah says the other signature is not hers. We need the original, the transmission history, and the transaction records."
Luke leaned forward.
"Martin used to keep scanned signature samples for vendor approvals."
Sarah turned.
"What?"
"During the transition to electronic accounting, he kept a folder of authorized signatories. That might explain how somebody reproduced her signature."
Claire nodded.
"Useful lead, not proof by itself."
Victoria rubbed her temples.
"There's something else."
Sarah looked at her.
"What?"
"Brookstone advanced money to Rosemere."
Claire stopped writing.
"How much?"
"Three hundred thousand dollars."
"When?"
"Last November."
"Under what agreement?"
"A refundable deposit against the North Meadow purchase."
Sarah felt a chill.
"If the sale falls apart?"
Victoria swallowed.
"Some of it may not be refundable under certain conditions."
Sarah looked toward Claire.
"What does that mean?"
"It means we need to read the agreement. Any potential repayment obligation depends on the actual terms and on who had authority to sign."
Victoria lowered her head.
"Dad used the money to cover payroll and overdue vendors."
Sarah frowned.
"Rosemere has been booking weddings eighteen months in advance. How can we be short of payroll?"
Nobody answered.
Luke looked toward the cedar box.
"The same question Penelope asked in 2020."
Claire opened the old accounting ledger.
The first suspicious payments were small.
Nine thousand dollars.
Fourteen thousand.
Twenty-two thousand.
Each had been recorded as maintenance or vendor services.
By 2020, the questionable transfers totaled more than two hundred thousand dollars.
Claire studied the figures.
"This doesn't establish what happened after 2020."
Luke nodded.
"But it gives us a starting point."
Sarah looked around the library.
Her father had managed Rosemere's money for years.
Victoria had approved payments.
Luke had been accused of stealing funds.
Penelope had died without telling Sarah what she knew.
And now someone had apparently placed Sarah's signature on a sale she opposed.
Her phone vibrated.
A message from Martin.
Come to my office alone at noon. We need to talk about your future.
Sarah stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
And leave Luke out of it. You remember what happened last time.
Sarah showed Claire.
The attorney's expression hardened.
"Preserve those messages."
Sarah looked toward the cedar box.
For six years, she had believed that box contained evidence of one financial dispute.
Now she understood something worse.
May you like
The theft in 2020 might have been only the beginning.
And her father had been preparing for this moment long before her wedding dress disappeared.
Related Stories
