Chapter 6: The Woman Who Knew My Father's Secret
Nobody moved.
The witness signature on the document looked authentic.
Eleanor's name.
Her handwriting.
Her initials.
Everything appeared genuine.
I slowly turned toward her.
"Tell me that's not your signature.""
Eleanor stared at the page.
Her face had become almost colorless.
"I've never seen this document before.""
"But that's your name.""
"I know.""
"Is it your signature?""
She leaned forward.
For several seconds, she studied the paper.
Then she whispered, "It looks like mine.""
Richard Mitchell leaned back in his chair.
"Well, that settles it.""
Eleanor looked up sharply.
"No. It doesn't.""
Richard folded his arms.
"Your signature appears on the witness line. Your partner's signature appears on the transfer agreement. What more do you need?""
I stepped closer.
"My father was dead when this document was supposedly created.""
Richard's expression changed.
The auditor cleared her throat.
"That's precisely why we're investigating it.""
She displayed the document's digital metadata.
"The agreement was uploaded to the corporate archive eight years ago. However, the electronic file was created eleven days after Daniel Walls's death.""
I stared at the screen.
"So someone created a document after my father died and put his signature on it?""
"That's what the preliminary evidence suggests.""
Richard shook his head.
"An electronic upload date doesn't prove when a physical document was signed.""
"Correct," the auditor replied.
"But the original document has not been produced. Only a scanned copy exists.""
I looked at Xavier.
He had stopped struggling.
His face was expressionless.
Too expressionless.
"Where is the original?"" I asked.
He didn't answer.
I repeated the question.
"Xavier, where is the original agreement?""
He glanced at his father.
Richard stood.
"This meeting is over.""
Eleanor shook her head.
"Sit down, Richard.""
"You have no authority to order me around.""
"Actually, I do.""
She placed a document on the table.
"According to the current shareholder register, I hold the controlling voting interest until the inheritance dispute is resolved.""
Richard stared at her.
Then he slowly sat down.
The auditor opened another file.
"There's one additional issue. We've discovered several payments made from the corporate development account to a private consulting company.""
"Which company?"" I asked.
She displayed the name.
Mitchell Strategic Advisory.
Richard's company.
I looked at him.
"How much?""
The auditor answered.
"Approximately four million dollars over five years.""
Richard's face hardened.
"Those were legitimate consulting fees.""
"Then why were they approved using the credentials of a deceased attorney?"" I asked.
He said nothing.
Xavier suddenly laughed.
"You're all acting like this is some kind of conspiracy. My father has spent decades building this company. You're going to destroy everything because a mechanic found an old photograph?""
I looked directly at him.
"No. We're asking why your father needed my father's signature to take something that wasn't his.""
His smile vanished.
Richard stood again.
"Security!""
Two officers entered.
"Remove Mr. Mitchell and his son from the meeting until the legal review is complete.""
Xavier looked stunned.
"Father?""
Richard avoided his eyes.
"Go.""
As security escorted him out, Xavier turned toward me.
"This isn't over, Cedric.""
I held his stare.
"Neither is the truth.""
The door closed.
For the first time since entering the building, I felt I could breathe.
But Eleanor was still staring at the disputed signature.
I approached her.
"What aren't you telling me?""
She looked exhausted.
"Can we speak privately?""
I hesitated.
"Why?""
"Because there are things about your father I should have told you years ago.""
I glanced at Naomi.
She was standing near the window.
"Naomi, wait outside.""
She nodded without arguing.
When the door closed, Eleanor sat down.
She removed a photograph from her handbag.
It showed my father holding a newborn baby.
The photograph was old and slightly faded.
I stared at it.
"Who is that?""
Eleanor looked at me.
"Your father.""
"And the baby?""
She swallowed.
"Xavier.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Why was my father holding Xavier as a baby?""
"Because he was there when Xavier was born.""
I frowned.
"Richard was his father.""
"Biologically, yes.""
I stepped back.
"What does that mean?""
Eleanor placed the photograph on the table.
"Your father and Richard were close friends. When Richard's wife died during childbirth, Daniel helped him raise Xavier.""
I stared at her.
"Then why does this matter?""
Eleanor's voice broke slightly.
"Because Daniel discovered something about Richard's financial dealings when Xavier was still a child. He learned that Richard had been using company funds for personal investments.""
"Was my father going to report him?""
"He considered it.""
"But he didn't?""
"No. Because Richard begged him not to destroy Xavier's future.""
I shook my head.
"So my father protected the man who eventually stole his shares?""
Eleanor nodded.
"Daniel believed Richard could change.""
I looked at the photograph again.
My father was smiling.
It was the same smile I remembered from childhood.
The one he wore when he brought home a birthday cake or fixed my bicycle.
I felt something painful rise in my throat.
"Why didn't you tell me about any of this?""
"Because Daniel made me promise not to.""
"Why?""
"Because he wanted you to grow up without carrying the burden of his business disputes.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Well, congratulations. I grew up knowing nothing while everyone else apparently knew everything.""
Eleanor lowered her head.
"You're right.""
I looked toward the door.
"There's another question.""
She waited.
"Why did my father leave me the shares but not tell me about the company?""
"Because he believed the company had become dangerous. He wanted you to have the choice to claim your inheritance when you were ready, not be dragged into a fight before you understood what it meant.""
I sat down.
"And Xavier?""
"Daniel wanted him protected too.""
"After everything Richard did?""
"Your father didn't hate the boy. He hated what the adults around him were teaching him.""
I stared at the photograph.
For a moment, I imagined my father standing in that same room, holding the child who would eventually become the man who humiliated me.
It was difficult to reconcile.
Then Eleanor reached into her handbag and removed a second envelope.
"This is why I asked you to speak privately.""
I opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The paper had yellowed with age.
The first line stopped my heart.
My dear Cedric, if you're reading this, then I wasn't able to finish what I started.
I recognized my father's handwriting.
I began reading.
There are things I have kept from you because I wanted you to have a normal life. But I need you to understand that the company was never the most important thing I built.
I swallowed.
You were.
My eyes blurred.
I continued.
If you ever meet Eleanor, listen to her. But don't let her make decisions for you. She has her own reasons for keeping the past buried.
I stopped.
Then I read the next paragraph.
And if Richard's son ever comes looking for you, remember that he may not know the truth about his own family.
I looked up.
"What does this mean?""
Eleanor's hands were trembling.
"I don't know.""
I continued reading.
There is one person who knows what happened the night I signed the original agreement. I kept her name out of the company records because I was afraid Richard would find her.
The final sentence was written in darker ink.
Find Margaret. She has the other half of the truth.
I looked at Eleanor.
"Who is Margaret?""
She stared at the letter.
Then she slowly covered her mouth.
"Oh, Daniel.""
"Who is she?""
Eleanor looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"Your father's younger sister.""
I blinked.
"My father didn't have a sister.""
"That's what he told you?""
I nodded.
Eleanor shook her head.
"Margaret was his half-sister. They had the same mother. They stopped speaking decades ago.""
"Where is she?""
Eleanor hesitated.
"I don't know. The last time I heard from her, she was living in Ohio.""
I folded the letter.
"Then we'll find her.""
Before Eleanor could respond, the boardroom door opened.
Naomi stepped inside.
Her face was pale.
"What's happening?"" I asked.
She looked at Eleanor, then at me.
"Xavier just left the building.""
"Security escorted him out.""
"No. He left through the underground garage.""
I frowned.
"What's wrong with that?""
Naomi held up her phone.
"I received a message from him.""
She turned the screen toward me.
It contained a photograph.
My father's old repair shop.
The building I had sold.
The place where I had spent my childhood.
Beneath it was a message.
You should have left the past alone.
Another message arrived.
Ask your new friend Eleanor why the shop was emptied before the sale.
I stared at the screen.
"What does that mean?""
Naomi shook her head.
"I don't know.""
Then a third message appeared.
This time, there was an attachment.
A photograph of a metal storage locker.
The door was open.
Inside were dozens of old boxes, engineering blueprints, and a wooden toolbox I recognized immediately.
My father's toolbox.
I zoomed in.
On the side of one box was a handwritten label.
*ORIGINAL OWNERSHIP RECORDS — DO NOT DESTROY.*
I looked at Eleanor.
She was already standing.
"Where is this place?"" I asked.
She examined the photograph.
Then her expression changed.
"That's not a storage facility.""
"What is it?""
She swallowed.
"That's the old Whitmore research warehouse.""
I frowned.
"I thought it was demolished.""
"It was supposed to be.""
"Who owns it now?""
Eleanor looked at me.
"Richard Mitchell.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
My father's original records might still exist.
And Richard had possessed them all these years.
I grabbed my jacket.
"We're going there.""
Eleanor caught my arm.
"Wait. You can't just walk into that building.""
"Why not?""
"Because if Richard knows you have seen those records, he may destroy them.""
I looked at the photograph again.
My father's toolbox.
The blueprints.
The original ownership documents.
Everything we needed to prove what had happened.
I turned toward Naomi.
"Can you tell me where Xavier is?""
She hesitated.
Then she opened her messages.
"He sent me his location.""
"Why would he do that?""
Her eyes filled with fear.
"Because he wants me to come alone.""
I stared at her.
"Why?""
She shook her head.
Then she whispered:
"Because he says he knows who really killed your father.""
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything.
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice came through.
Low.
Shaky.
Familiar.
"Cedric? This is Margaret Walls.""
I gripped the phone.
"Margaret?""
"Listen to me carefully. I know you're looking for the original documents.""
"How did you know?""
"Because Richard just sent someone to my house.""
My stomach tightened.
"Are you safe?""
There was a brief silence.
Then she said:
"No. And there's something you need to know about your father.""
I closed my eyes.
"What?""
Her next words changed everything.
"Your father didn't die of natural causes, Cedric.""
I couldn't breathe.
Margaret continued, her voice breaking.
"He was murdered because he discovered that Richard Mitchell wasn't the only person stealing from the company.""
I looked at Eleanor.
She was staring at me.
May you like
And for the first time, I understood why my father's final letter had warned me not to trust everyone who claimed to be on his side.
*Because the person who had helped Richard steal my father's legacy might have been standing beside me all along.*
