Chapter 2
“Who actually owns the company you’ve been trying to sell,” I finished.
Vanessa’s hand stopped inches from the envelope.
Around us, guests began whispering. I saw several phones rise. Samuel asked everyone to put them away.
“This concerns an active review,” he said. “Please give us room.”
Daniel tried to smile.
“There’s no sale, Marcus. There’s a restructuring proposal. Your recovery made it necessary.”
“My recovery did not authorize you to sign my name.”
Marian came to stand beside me.
“Mr. Reed and I have copies of the documents,” she said. “We’ll handle the formal process privately.”
I knew she wanted to protect the evidence and the people in the room. I also needed the donors to hear one clear fact before rumors did the rest.
“I remain the sole owner of Vance Holdings,” I said. “The proposed transfer has not been authorized by me. The foundation’s board is reviewing the transactions connected to it.”
Vanessa drew a breath.
“You asked Daniel to handle things while you were in the hospital.”
“I asked him to pay bills and keep the staff working. I never gave away the company.”
Grace looked toward the private dining room behind the stage.
“The originals are in there,” she told Marian. “A gray folder. They were going to bring it out after the auction.”
Daniel’s eyes flashed.
“She was eavesdropping.”
“She was serving dinner,” I said.
My legs began to shake harder. I had stood too long. Pride would not make them stronger.
I lowered myself into the chair Marian brought behind me.
Vanessa saw the movement and seized on it.
“See? He needs to rest. This is what I’ve been saying.”
“I need a chair,” I said. “I don’t need you to answer for me.”
Samuel went with a security manager to secure the private room. Marian asked Daniel to remain available and told him the company would preserve all records. She did not accuse him of anything beyond the documents we already had.
Vanessa turned to me.
“You humiliated me.”
I touched the place where she had slapped me.
“Someone filmed what happened here. I’m asking them to preserve it.”
Her gaze moved to the photographer.
Grace’s hand tightened around mine.
I looked at her.
“You don’t have to stay in this room.”
“I need to tell you something else.”
“Tell Marian. She’ll listen.”
Grace glanced at Vanessa.
Marian noticed.
“We can talk somewhere private,” she said.
I asked my driver, Owen, to bring the accessible car to the side entrance. He had stayed near the ballroom all evening. Vanessa often told him to leave when she wanted control over who helped me.
Tonight, he answered me directly.
As we crossed the lobby, I heard Vanessa arguing with Samuel behind us. Daniel spoke more quietly. The guests remained in the ballroom while the foundation’s senior staff explained that the auction was suspended and any donations made that evening could be returned on request.
I hated that the children’s programs were now part of this mess.
Marian touched my shoulder.
“The board has emergency reserves. The center will open Monday.”
I nodded. She knew where my mind had gone.
In a quiet office, Grace sat across from us. Her hands were clasped so tightly that the knuckles looked pale against her skin.
“I heard them in the private room,” she said. “Vanessa asked if the property transfer was ready. Daniel said the signature would pass because nobody expected you to be able to challenge it in person.”
“When?” Marian asked.
“About twenty minutes before the slap.”
“Who else was there?”
“A man from the buyer. I don’t know his name.”
Marian wrote it down.
“Did they say which property?”
“The learning center.”
My stomach tightened.
Vance Holdings owned the building and leased it to the foundation for one dollar a year. My father bought it so the children’s program would never depend on a landlord’s patience.
Selling that building would force the center to move.
“What did Vanessa say?” I asked.
Grace looked down.
“She said you’d never know until the money was gone.”
I closed my eyes for a second.
Marian asked Grace for exact words, times, and where she had stood. Grace answered carefully. When she was unsure, she said so.
Then she reached into her apron and took out a folded page.
“I found this in the staff printer yesterday.”
It was a termination notice addressed to her. My name appeared at the bottom.
I had never seen it.
“Why didn’t you show me?” I asked.
“Vanessa said you wanted me gone because I’d become too involved in your care.”
I looked at the false signature.
“She said if I made trouble tonight, she’d tell the agency I’d stolen from you.”
Marian put down her pen.
“Have you stolen anything?”
“No.”
Grace’s answer came without hesitation.
I leaned forward.
“I believe you. We’ll check every claim, but you are not being dismissed on a paper I never signed.”
Her eyes filled.
From the hallway came a knock. Samuel entered with the gray folder.
“The sale agreement was there,” he said. “So was a payment schedule.”
May you like
Marian opened it.
The first payment was listed as a personal transfer to Vanessa.
