Chapter 8 - CLAIRE'S TIMELINE
Claire agreed to meet me for twenty minutes.
Not at home.
Not privately.
Rachel Kim’s office.
Her lawyer sat at the end of the conference table.
So did mine.
Claire walked in holding nothing.
No ring.
No purse.
No baby.
I hadn't seen her in eleven days.
She looked different.
Not prettier.
Not worse.
Lighter.
That hurt.
“How's Noah?”
“Good.”
“Sleeping?”
“Four-hour stretches now.”
I smiled.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“I miss him.”
“I know.”
Then her face closed.
“This isn't about Noah.”
Rachel placed a timeline on the table.
January 9.
Claire tracks Range Rover to Manhattan apartment.
January 12.
Claire reviews joint credit card statements.
January 15.
Discovers Grand Meridian charges.
January 18.
Retains private investigator.
January 21.
Investigator identifies Vanessa.
January 26.
Claire consults divorce counsel.
February 2.
Claire requests complete financial records.
February 4.
I remove access to joint investment account.
I looked at her.
“That wasn't because you asked questions.”
“Why was it?”
“The account platform was being migrated.”
Claire said nothing.
My own lie sounded ridiculous.
February 7.
Claire discovers unknown guarantee in cloud storage.
February 8.
Hospital dates establish signature impossibility.
February 10.
Forensic accountant retained.
February 14.
Norchester identified.
February 18.
Rachel Kim contacted.
February 20.
Anonymous documents received from Vanessa.
February 23.
Foreign transfers traced.
February 27.
Claire prepares secure residence.
March 1.
Claire leaves.
My affair had been discovered in January.
She stayed another seven weeks.
I stared at her.
“You lived with me for seven weeks knowing.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
She looked confused.
“How what?”
“How did you look at me?”
“I tried not to.”
I swallowed.
“Did you ever want to confront me?”
“Every day.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because I needed documents.”
The bluntness stunned me.
“You were collecting evidence.”
“Yes.”
“Against me.”
“Against whatever was happening.”
“You didn't know if I was involved?”
“Not at first.”
I leaned back.
“When did you decide I was?”
“The guarantee.”
I looked down.
“That was me.”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
Claire’s face didn't move.
“Do you know what I was doing on November seventeenth at 10:42 in the morning?”
I didn't answer.
“I was trying to stand up without tearing my stitches.”
My throat closed.
“Noah had jaundice.”
“I was terrified.”
“You told me Stonebridge needed you at the office.”
I remembered.
I had left the hospital for three hours.
My father had arranged the notary.
I signed Claire’s name.
Then I returned carrying flowers.
Claire continued.
“You handed me peonies.”
“My favorite.”
I stared at her.
“I remember.”
“I put them beside the hospital bed.”
“Then you told me you hated leaving us.”
My eyes burned.
“Claire.”
“No.”
She wasn't crying.
That made it worse.
“I need you to understand why the affair was not the worst thing.”
I nodded.
“You cheated on me.”
“That destroyed our marriage.”
“But forging my signature while I was recovering from giving birth told me something else.”
“What?”
“That if protecting your company required using me, you would.”
I couldn't speak.
“You made me legally responsible for millions without asking.”
“You exposed our home.”
“Our savings.”
“Potentially my inheritance.”
“And you did it while I could barely walk.”
Every excuse died before reaching my mouth.
Rachel remained silent.
So did Samuel.
Claire pushed another page toward me.
“Do you recognize this?”
A notary invoice.
Signed by Dennis Cole.
I frowned.
“No.”
“The man who notarized my fake signature.”
“What about him?”
“He died seven months ago.”
I looked up.
“Then how—”
“He signed three more Vale Rowan documents after his death.”
The room became still.
Samuel leaned forward.
“What?”
Claire looked at him.
“The notary stamp continued being used.”
My pulse accelerated.
“By who?”
“We don't know.”
Rachel corrected her.
“We have a strong theory.”
I stared.
“Who?”
Claire looked at me.
“Your father’s executive assistant.”
Margaret Sloan.
She had worked for Harrison for twenty-six years.
She knew every password.
Every file.
Every hidden key.
“Margaret?”
Claire nodded.
“She’s missing.”
My stomach dropped.
“Since when?”
“Yesterday.”
Rachel added,
“She cleared her apartment.”
“Left her company car at Westchester County Airport.”
“And withdrew forty thousand dollars in cash.”
Samuel swore quietly.
I stared at Claire.
“What does Margaret know?”
Claire’s eyes met mine.
“Maybe everything.”
May you like
Then she said,
“And if she helped your father forge my signature, she may be the only person who can prove exactly who ordered it.”
