Alexander sat at the kitchen table with the document between his hands.
He kept staring at the signature.
"I've never seen this."
Elena remained standing.
"Look carefully."
"I am."
"You were married to me when this transfer happened."
"I know."
"You were already working with Sterling Holdings."
"I know."
"You had access to these accounts."
"Yes."
"Then explain why your signature is here."
Alexander rubbed his forehead.
"I can't."
Elena pulled out another document.
"This transfer happened three weeks before our wedding."
He read the amount.
His expression changed.
"I don't remember it."
"That's not an answer."
"I know."
He looked up.
"Elena, I swear to you, I didn't authorize this."
She studied him.
For years, she had learned to recognize Alexander's lies.
He usually looked away.
He touched his watch.
His voice became defensive.
This time he did none of those things.
He looked frightened.
"Who had access to your signature?"
"My assistant."
"Who?"
"Margaret."
"Anyone else?"
"The family office."
"Names."
Alexander hesitated.
"Paige."
Elena remembered the file.
"Your sister?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"She handled certain family transfers."
"Did Victoria have access?"
"She could request them."
"Richard?"
"Yes."
Elena placed the documents side by side.
"What was Blackridge doing with Sterling Holdings?"
Alexander looked at the name.
"Trying to pressure us."
"How?"
"Debt."
"Whose debt?"
"Mine."
Elena's eyes narrowed.
"Your debt?"
Alexander nodded.
"I made investments when I was younger."
"I know."
"No, you don't."
He leaned back.
"I lost a lot."
"How much?"
"Enough that I was afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Losing the family name."
Elena almost laughed.
"You were afraid of losing the name while you were telling me I was beneath it."
Alexander looked down.
"I know how it sounds."
"It sounds exactly like you."
He accepted that.
"But someone bought the debt."
"Blackridge?"
"Yes."
"And then?"
"They wanted me to convince Sterling Holdings to take their financing."
"Why?"
"Because once they controlled the debt, they could influence the company."
Elena looked at him.
"And my mother stopped them."
Alexander nodded.
"I didn't know she was involved."
"Did she know about your debt?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"She told me."
"When?"
"Before I proposed."
Elena went still.
"You knew she was watching you."
"I knew."
"Did you know how much money I had?"
"No."
"Did you think marrying me would solve your problem?"
Alexander looked ashamed.
"Partly."
The honesty hurt more than another lie would have.
Elena sat opposite him.
"Partly?"
"I thought your mother would help."
"She did."
"I know."
"But you still married me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Alexander looked at her.
"Because I loved you."
Elena said nothing.
"I know you don't believe me."
"I believe that you loved me."
His face softened.
"But?"
"You also loved what being married to me could become."
He looked away.
"Yes."
The admission was quiet.
Elena felt something inside her finally release.
Not forgiveness.
Closure.
Then she noticed another detail.
"Who told Blackridge about your debt?"
Alexander frowned.
"I don't know."
"Think."
He closed his eyes.
"Victoria knew."
"Anyone else?"
"Richard."
"Paige?"
"I don't think so."
"What about your assistant?"
"Margaret wouldn't."
"Why?"
"She worked for my father."
"That doesn't answer the question."
Alexander looked at Elena.
"Because Margaret hated Blackridge."
"How do you know?"
"She told me."
"When?"
"After the first loan."
Elena opened her notebook.
"Where is she now?"
"Retired."
"Contact her."
Alexander hesitated.
"Why?"
"Because she may know who authorized the transfer."
He called.
The number was disconnected.
Elena looked at him.
"When did she retire?"
"Two years ago."
"Where did she go?"
"I don't know."
Elena stood.
"Find out."
Alexander nodded.
As she reached the door, he said her name.
She stopped.
"Elena."
"What?"
"Are you going to destroy me?"
She turned.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you're already living with what you did."
He looked down.
She continued.
"But if you lie to me now, I will."
Alexander nodded.
"I understand."
Elena left.
Outside, the air was cold.
Julian was waiting near the car.
"How did it go?"
"He admitted he knew about his debt."
"Anything else?"
"He didn't forge the signature."
Julian opened the car door.
"Did you believe him?"
"Yes."
They drove toward the estate.
Neither noticed the black sedan following them.
At a red light, Julian checked the mirror.
"The same car has been behind us for ten minutes."
Elena looked back.
"Can you lose it?"
"I can."
The car changed lanes.
The sedan followed.
Julian accelerated.
They turned onto a side road.
The sedan continued straight.
Elena watched until it disappeared.
"Who was that?"
"I don't know."
Julian's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"Do you think it's Blackridge?"
"Maybe."
"Why would they follow me?"
Julian looked at her.
"Because you own the debt."
"No."
He shook his head.
"Because you own the company."
Elena thought about the forged signature.
The missing file.
The secret transfers.
The photograph.
Then she understood.
"Blackridge doesn't want Sterling Holdings."
Julian looked at her.
"They want leverage."
"Over what?"
"Over you."
The estate gates opened.
Security staff approached as they entered.
One guard looked unusually nervous.
"Ms. Vance."
"Yes?"
"We found something."
He handed her a small envelope.
"No sender."
Elena opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Not of her mother.
Not of Alexander.
Of Elena.
Taken that morning.
She was leaving Alexander's apartment.
On the back were four words.
Stop looking backward.
Elena stared at the photograph.
Julian's expression hardened.
"You're being watched."
"I know."
"This changes things."
"Yes."
He looked toward the guards.
"I'll increase security."
"No."
"Elena."
"If we make it obvious we're afraid, they'll change tactics."
Julian frowned.
"Then what?"
"Let them think I don't know."
She folded the photograph.
"Whoever sent this wants me frightened."
"And you're not?"
"I am."
Julian looked surprised.
"Good."
She walked toward the house.
"Fear is useful when you don't let it choose for you."
Inside, Elena went directly to the study.
She opened the old archive.
There was one name she hadn't investigated.
Margaret.
Alexander's former assistant.
If Margaret knew who had access to the forged transfer, she might know who had been manipulating the Sterling accounts.
Elena searched the company records.
Nothing.
She checked old employment files.
Nothing.
Then Julian remembered something.
"She wasn't paid through Sterling Holdings."
Elena looked up.
"Where?"
"Vance Capital."
Elena froze.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Find her."
He opened the database.
A record appeared.
Margaret Hale.
Financial administrator.
Private household account.
Employment began six years before Elena's wedding.
Elena stared.
"Six years."
"Yes."
"Who hired her?"
"Your mother."
Elena's heart began beating faster.
"Then she wasn't Alexander's assistant originally."
"No."
"She worked for my mother."
Julian nodded.
"Exactly."
Elena sat down.
Another piece had fallen into place.
Her mother had placed Margaret inside the Sterling family years before the wedding.
Not as a spy.
As protection.
But if Margaret had access to the accounts, she might know who had forged Alexander's signature.
Elena called the number in the employment record.
A woman answered.
"Hello?"
"Margaret Hale?"
There was silence.
"Who is this?"
"Elena Vance."
The silence lasted longer.
Then Margaret said quietly,
"Your mother told me you'd call one day."
Elena closed her eyes.
"What did she tell you?"
"That when you called, I should tell you everything."
Elena's fingers tightened around the phone.
"Everything about what?"
Margaret breathed out slowly.
"The person who betrayed your mother."
Julian looked at Elena.
She raised one hand, telling him to remain silent.
"Who?"
Margaret answered.
"I can't say over the phone."
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere safe."
"Then I'll come to you."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because they know you're looking."
Elena's eyes moved toward the window.
"Who are you talking about?"
Margaret's voice dropped.
"The person who forged Alexander's signature."
Elena waited.
"And the person who sent Blackridge after your family."
"Who?"
Margaret whispered the name.
Elena went completely still.
The line disconnected.
Julian stepped closer.
"Who was it?"
Elena slowly lowered the phone.
She looked at him.
For the first time since she had returned from Richard's house, she was genuinely afraid.
"Julian."
He waited.
"Margaret said the person responsible was inside Vance Capital."
Julian's face changed.
Elena continued.
"She said the person has been there for years."
Outside, the estate gates began closing.
Elena looked toward the security monitors.
A black sedan had stopped beyond the road.
The same vehicle from earlier.
The headlights turned off.
Then a man stepped out.
He stood beside the car and looked directly toward the estate.
Julian moved toward the security console.
"Should I call the police?"
Elena shook her head.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because if he wanted to attack us, he wouldn't be standing there."
She watched the screen.
The man raised one hand.
He held something.
A folder.
Then he placed it on the ground and walked back to the car.
The sedan disappeared down the mountain road.
Security retrieved the folder.
Elena opened it.
Inside was one document.
A transfer authorization.
The signature belonged to someone at Vance Capital.
Someone who had access to Elena's mother's private accounts.
Someone who had been present during the entire marriage.
At the bottom was a name.
Julian stared at it.
Elena did not move.
The document appeared to prove he had authorized the first payment to Blackridge.
Julian finally spoke.
"I didn't sign that."
Elena looked at him.
"I know."
His expression changed.
"What?"
She turned the page over.
There was a handwritten note.
Your mother's final secret is not who betrayed her.
It is why she let them.
Elena felt the room go silent.
For years, she had believed her mother had tried to protect her from dangerous people.
Now she wondered whether Evelyn had deliberately allowed the conspiracy to continue.
And if she had, there could only be one reason.
She had been waiting for Elena to discover something far more important than money.
Something that had begun long before Alexander.
Something that could still destroy everything Elena had inherited.
Click here to continue reading: PART 9: The Forged Document Was Only the Surface, and Elena Finally Understood Why Her Mother Had Allowed the Conspiracy to Grow
They Expected Me to Leave the Courthouse Broken, But I Had Already Made One Quiet Decision They Never Saw Coming
Part 8 of 15
