Chapter 3 - HER NAME ON SOMETHING SHE NEVER SIGNED
Emma was discharged the following afternoon with instructions to rest, monitor contractions, and return immediately if anything changed.
She and Marcus went home to their townhouse in Arvada.
Diane called nine times.
Emma answered none.
Robert sent one text.
We need to talk before this gets out of hand.
Emma showed Marcus.
He read it twice.
“Interesting definition of ‘out of hand.’”
At 8:12 the next morning, Emma tried logging into the company accounting system.
Her password no longer worked.
She tried her company email.
Access denied.
She called the outsourced IT provider.
The technician sounded uncomfortable.
“Mr. Carter asked us to suspend your credentials last night.”
“For what reason?”
“He said you’re on medical leave.”
Emma stared at the wall.
“I’m not.”
Marcus was already pulling on his jacket.
“Where are you going?”
“With you.”
“To the office?”
“To wherever you’re going when you get that look.”
Emma did not go to the office.
She called Lena Ortiz, the outside CPA who had reviewed Carter Renovation Group’s books for four years.
Emma kept her voice controlled.
“I need to know whether anything was submitted to Front Range Community Bank under my name this week.”
Lena went quiet.
“Why?”
“Because my father said something yesterday that doesn’t make sense.”
Another pause.
Then keyboard clicks.
“Emma.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What?”
“There was a borrower certification submitted Monday.”
Monday.
Two days before the staircase.
“For the line renewal?”
“Yes.”
“Who signed it?”
Lena did not answer immediately.
Emma stood.
“Lena.”
“It has your name.”
The room seemed suddenly too warm.
“I didn’t sign anything Monday.”
Marcus stopped moving.
Lena said, “It’s an electronic signature.”
“I didn’t authorize one.”
“I assumed Robert had cleared it with you.”
“What exactly did I supposedly certify?”
“That the internal financial statements were accurate in all material respects.”
Emma sat down again.
Those statements contained the expenses she had refused to approve.
Khloe’s legal bills.
The apartment.
The cards.
And several other transfers Emma had not finished reviewing.
“I need a copy.”
“I need to speak with my firm first.”
“Lena, my name is on it.”
“I know.”
Her tone changed.
Professional now.
Careful.
“I’m not saying no. I’m saying there may be a process.”
Emma understood.
For the first time, she appreciated process.
It meant nobody could solve this with a family vote.
When the call ended, Marcus sat across from her.
“You need a lawyer.”
“I know.”
“You need to tell the bank.”
“I know.”
“And you need to stop protecting them.”
Emma looked at him.
That one hurt.
“I’m not protecting them.”
Marcus didn’t argue.
He didn’t have to.
Because Emma remembered something from four months earlier.
Robert had asked her to email him a scanned image of her signature for routine vendor approvals while she was traveling.
She had done it without thinking.
Now someone had used it for something she had specifically refused to sign.
Emma opened her sent folder.
The original email was still there.
May you like
So was Robert’s reply.
Perfect. This’ll save us a lot of headaches.
