Chapter 4 - THE SIGNATURE
At 6:12 the next morning, David Rosen called.
Amy had slept less than sixty minutes.
The seriousness in his voice made her sit up before he finished saying her name.
"Amy?"
"Yes."
"I read what you sent."
"How bad is it?"
"I need to review the entire package before I answer that."
"David."
He paused.
"Potentially very bad."
Amy closed her eyes.
"But there may also be significant problems with how the authorization was obtained."
"What does that mean?"
"It means a signature doesn't automatically make every document untouchable."
Morning light had started to appear beyond the townhouse windows.
"Can Linden Street be taken?"
"If the financing fails and the pledge is enforceable, it could become vulnerable."
Amy's throat tightened.
"What should I do?"
"Nothing with Daniel."
"What?"
"Do not sign anything else."
"I won't."
"Do not agree verbally to anything."
"Okay."
"Do not let anyone from Mercer Development pressure you into a meeting without counsel."
Amy gave a tired laugh.
"I married into that family yesterday."
"I know."
His sadness made the sentence worse.
David had known Amy since she was a teenager.
He and her father had been close friends.
"Can you meet me this morning?"
"Yes."
"Nine o'clock."
"I'll be there."
Margaret was already waiting outside the bedroom.
"Lawyer?"
Amy nodded.
"I'm going with you."
"You don't have to."
"I know."
Margaret answered without hesitation.
"That's why it matters."
At nine, they entered David's downtown office.
Printed copies of the financing documents covered the conference table.
A younger attorney named Rachel Kim sat beside him.
Rachel specialized in real estate and financial disputes.
David tapped one page.
"This is the authorization Amy signed."
Amy stared at her own handwriting.
"It looks real because it is real."
Rachel nodded.
"We're not claiming otherwise."
She turned the page.
"The issue is what you were told the document was."
Amy described the night Daniel brought home the folder.
The sticky tabs.
The insurance explanation.
Her pregnancy exhaustion.
Rachel wrote everything down.
"Was anyone else present?"
"No."
"Any messages from Daniel describing the paperwork?"
Amy searched.
Three minutes later, she found one.
Insurance guy finally finished the packet.
Just signatures tonight and we're done.
Rachel lifted her eyebrows.
"That's helpful."
Amy leaned forward.
"Helpful enough?"
"Helpful is not the same as decisive."
David added.
"We need evidence showing what Daniel knew and intended."
Amy remembered the email.
"What about the message saying I didn't need the details?"
"Very helpful."
Rachel turned toward Margaret.
"Mrs. Mercer, I'm going to ask something uncomfortable."
Margaret nodded.
"Did your husband know Amy's building was being pledged?"
Margaret stared at the papers.
"I believe he probably did."
"Why?"
"Charles controls major financing decisions."
"Would Daniel have authority to do this alone?"
"Not normally."
Amy felt sick.
"So his father approved it."
Margaret did not answer.
David closed the folder.
"There's another concern."
Amy looked at him.
"The company receiving the financing is not Mercer Development."
"What?"
A page slid across the table.
The borrower was MHD Strategic Ventures LLC.
Amy had never heard the name.
"Who owns that?"
Rachel turned her laptop toward Amy.
"According to the filing, sixty percent belongs to Mercer Development."
"And the other forty?"
Rachel looked at her.
"Celeste Harper."
The room went still.
Amy stared at the screen.
"So my property was pledged for a company Celeste owns."
"Partially."
"With Daniel."
"Indirectly."
Amy stood and moved toward the window.
Below her, buses stopped.
People carried coffee to offices.
Traffic moved through downtown.
The ordinary city continued while her marriage unraveled.
Margaret spoke behind her.
"I didn't know about this entity."
Amy turned.
"You didn't know?"
"No."
"But Charles would."
"Almost certainly."
Amy shook her head.
"How long has Celeste been involved with Daniel?"
Margaret's expression tightened.
"They dated before you met."
"I know that."
"They were serious."
Amy stared.
"How serious?"
"Engaged."
Everything stopped.
"What?"
Margaret looked down.
"For three months."
Daniel had told Amy Celeste was simply an old girlfriend.
Nothing important.
Nothing serious.
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"I assumed he had."
"When?"
"They were twenty-four."
"Why did it end?"
Margaret inhaled.
"Charles didn't approve of her."
"That's why?"
"Partly."
"And now she's in business with them."
Margaret nodded.
Amy felt as if she had discovered a history designed to exclude her.
"Anything else?"
Margaret hesitated.
Amy caught it.
"Margaret."
"There was a rumor back then."
"What rumor?"
"That Celeste believed she was pregnant."
Amy gripped the conference table.
"Was she?"
"I don't know."
"Daniel never told me any of this."
"I thought he had."
Amy turned away.
Rachel closed her notebook gently.
David watched Amy.
"You don't need to deal with the history today."
Amy gave him an exhausted look.
"The history walked into my wedding reception."
Her phone vibrated.
Daniel.
She ignored it.
Then a text arrived.
Please come home.
Another followed.
We can fix this.
Then a third.
Dad wants everyone at the office at noon.
Amy read it twice.
Margaret looked over.
"My husband summoned a family meeting?"
"Apparently."
Rachel shook her head.
"I would advise against going."
Amy stared at the papers.
Then she looked at Margaret.
"Actually, I think I should."
David frowned.
"Why?"
"Because last night Daniel told me this was complicated."
May you like
Amy gathered the documents into a folder.
"I want to hear how complicated it becomes when they know I have the originals."
