Chapter 4 - THE SIGNATURE
Richard smiled when he saw Khloe holding the phone.
"Who are you talking to?"
Khloe forced herself to breathe normally.
"Harrison."
Richard's smile disappeared for less than a second.
Then it returned.
"Tell your brother I said hello."
Khloe ended the call.
"What are you doing awake?"
"I heard you."
He walked closer.
"What did Harrison want?"
"Nothing important."
Richard studied her face.
Then his eyes moved to the laptop on the table.
Khloe closed it.
That afternoon, Richard became unusually affectionate.
He suggested dinner at their favorite restaurant.
He talked about the baby.
He discussed buying a house closer to Harrison.
Everything felt rehearsed.
Khloe played along.
Two days later, Harrison called from a private number.
"I found something."
Khloe stepped into the nursery and locked the door.
"What?"
"Your signature appears on three loan guarantees."
"I haven't guaranteed any loans."
"I know."
Her heart started pounding.
"How much?"
"Forty-eight million."
Khloe sat down.
The room tilted.
"That's not possible."
"It gets worse."
Harrison paused.
"One guarantee uses your personal interest in the Cole Family Trust as collateral."
Khloe stopped breathing.
"He can't do that."
"No."
"He would need my authorization."
"Exactly."
Khloe remembered signing dozens of documents Richard had brought home over the years.
Insurance forms.
Property disclosures.
Tax paperwork.
Charity authorizations.
She suddenly felt sick.
"What if I signed something without realizing it?"
"Then we challenge it."
"What if he copied my signature?"
"Then we prove fraud."
Harrison told her to photograph everything she could find.
He told her not to use the family computer.
He told her not to tell Richard anything.
Three nights later, Khloe waited until Richard left for a supposed business dinner.
Then she opened the locked cabinet in his study using the spare key he believed she had lost.
Inside were corporate files.
Bank records.
Loan documents.
And one pale gray folder labeled K.H.
Khloe opened it.
Her hands began trembling.
Photocopies of her driver's license.
Copies of her passport.
Old tax returns.
Trust statements.
Medical records.
Samples of her signature.
Pages and pages of signatures.
Some from birthday cards.
Some from checks.
One from a handwritten anniversary letter she had given Richard during their second year of marriage.
Khloe covered her mouth.
At the bottom of the folder was a limited power of attorney.
Her signature appeared above the date.
Khloe had never seen it before.
She photographed every page.
Then she noticed another document.
A draft marital property agreement.
It contained a clause stating that if Khloe became medically incapacitated, Richard would receive authority over several of her personal assets.
Attached to the agreement was a note.
Vanessa's handwriting.
R says pregnancy gives us the best window.
Khloe's blood went cold.
May you like
Downstairs, the front door opened.
Richard had come home early.
