Chapter 2 - The SignatureDominic discovers the first lie was his ownDominic stared at the document.
“This is ridiculous.”
The attorney didn't move.
“Perhaps.”
He pointed to the title.
“But the state records don't agree with you.”
Dominic glanced at the page again.
The SUV was registered under Audrey's name.
He already knew that.
What he hadn't known was that the title contained a restriction he had never read.
Transfer authorization required Audrey's written consent.
He looked at the attorney.
“She gave me permission.”
“Did she?”
“Yes.”
“Then you should have no difficulty producing it.”
Dominic said nothing.
The attorney held out his hand.
“Keys.”
Dominic laughed.
“You can't just take the vehicle.”
“I don't intend to take it.”
He nodded toward the driver.
“The registered owner does.”
Dominic's father stepped forward.
“Who exactly are you?”
“Counsel.”
“For whom?”
The attorney smiled politely.
“That information is not relevant to you.”
Victoria walked toward him.
“Do you know who my son is?”
The attorney looked at her sunglasses.
“Apparently someone who doesn't read contracts.”
Her face reddened.
Dominic stepped between them.
“This vehicle has been in our family for years.”
“Your family?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
The attorney opened the folder.
“According to the documents, your wife purchased it with separate property funds before your marriage.”
Dominic's stomach tightened.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“Who are you working for?”
The attorney closed the folder.
“You'll learn soon enough.”
He took the keys.
Dominic's hand remained clenched around them.
For the first time, he understood that somebody had moved several pieces across the board without telling him.
His phone buzzed.
Audrey.
Or rather, there was no message from Audrey.
That bothered him more.
She should have been calling.
She should have been apologizing.
She should have been asking when he was coming home.
Instead, nothing.
He called her.
Straight to voicemail.
“Call me back.”
He hung up.
Victoria frowned.
“She's being dramatic.”
Dominic nodded automatically.
But he didn't believe it anymore.
Across town, I lay on a bed in a private apartment overlooking the Hudson.
Leo slept in a bassinet beside me.
A doctor examined my incision.
“You need rest.”
“I know.”
“You also need help.”
“I have it now.”
My father sat in a chair near the window.
He was seventy-two years old and still carried himself like someone who had spent his life entering rooms where everyone else was already standing.
He wore no uniform.
No decorations.
Just a dark sweater and reading glasses.
To anyone passing on the street, he was an older retired man.
That was how I had wanted it.
Dad looked at me.
“Do you regret telling me?”
“No.”
“Do you regret not telling Dominic who you were?”
I looked toward Leo.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if knowing your father could have changed how he treated me, then I needed to know what he would do without that information.”
Dad nodded.
“That answer tells me you already know what comes next.”
I did.
Divorce.
But there was more.
Dominic had been using my financial identity in ways I didn't fully understand.
During the last year, he had started telling people my family was “quietly backing” his investment firm.
I had never authorized that.
My name had appeared on documents I had never read.
I had assumed he was simply exaggerating socially.
Now I wasn't sure.
My attorney, Elena Martinez, entered the room.
She carried a laptop and three thick folders.
“You need to see this.”
She sat beside me.
“The SUV is the least important problem.”
I looked at Dad.
He didn't react.
Elena opened the first file.
“During your marriage, Dominic registered your apartment as his primary business address.”
I frowned.
“I never consented to that.”
“He claims you did.”
She clicked again.
“Your electronic signature appears on three credit applications.”
My throat tightened.
“I never signed those.”
“I know.”
“Then how did he?”
Elena looked at my father.
“We're investigating.”
I felt cold.
“What else?”
She opened another file.
“Your name also appears on a proposed guarantee for a twelve-million-dollar acquisition.”
I stared at her.
“Twelve million?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“An investment property portfolio.”
I shook my head.
“I don't know anything about that.”
“I believe you.”
Dad stood.
“What is the exposure?”
“Potentially significant.”
He looked at me.
“Did you ever give Dominic access to your personal identification documents?”
“Yes.”
“Passwords?”
“For some accounts.”
Elena nodded.
“That changes things.”
Dad's eyes hardened.
“Find out exactly what he has done.”
Elena closed the laptop.
“I already have investigators running a document audit.”
I looked at my phone.
Still nothing from Dominic.
Then it buzzed.
Not Dominic.
A number I didn't recognize.
The message contained a photograph.
I opened it.
It showed the inside of my apartment.
My bedroom.
My dresser.
My desk.
My jewelry box.
I stared at the image.
Then another message appeared.
We need to talk before you make this worse.
I showed Dad.
He studied the photo.
“Who sent it?”
“I don't know.”
Elena's expression changed.
“Don't reply.”
Dad took my phone.
He looked at the number.
Then he handed it back.
“That's not Dominic.”
My skin prickled.
“How do you know?”
“Because Dominic wants you frightened.”
He looked toward the window.
“This person wants you warned.”
Before I could answer, the door opened.
A man in a dark suit entered.
He leaned toward Dad.
“Sir, we found something else.”
Dad's expression tightened.
“What?”
The man looked at me.
“Ms. Brooks needs to see this herself.”
He placed a tablet on the table.
A video was already paused on the screen.
I pressed play.
It showed Dominic entering our apartment three nights before Leo was born.
He was carrying a folder.
He walked into my father's locked study.
Then he opened the safe.
I stopped breathing.
May you like
Because Dominic had never known the safe existed.
End of Chapter 2And he was not alone.
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