Chapter 6 - The Man Who Signed Everything
Julian entered his father’s office without knocking.
Charles did not look surprised.
“You removed me from the board.”
“Temporarily.”
“You used my divorce affidavit as the excuse.”
“You signed inaccurate disclosures.”
“You prepared them.”
“Our attorneys prepared them from information provided by management.”
“Your management.”
Charles closed the file in front of him.
“This is exactly why I told you not to become emotional.”
Julian laughed.
“My father steals my credentials, routes money through my mistress, lets me file false statements under oath, then tells me not to become emotional.”
“Careful.”
“With what?”
“Accusations.”
Julian leaned over the desk.
“Did you authorize transfers through Aster Bridge?”
Charles stood.
They were nearly the same height.
“I built the company that pays for every room you have ever entered believing you owned it.”
Julian stared.
“So that’s a yes.”
“It is an answer to your entitlement.”
“No. It is how you avoid answers.”
Charles stepped closer.
“You want truth? You were never prepared to run Whitmore Properties.”
Julian’s face tightened.
“You cared about magazine covers, boats, women, and being seen as the heir. Claire was more capable with a balance sheet than you ever were.”
Hearing Claire’s competence from Charles felt like another insult because Julian remembered every time he had dismissed it.
Charles continued.
“She saw problems because she was trained to find them. You saw nothing because you were trained to inherit.”
“By you.”
“Yes.”
For the first time, Charles sounded almost contemptuous of his own creation.
Julian looked toward Boston Harbor.
“What did I sign?”
Charles did not answer.
“What did you put under my name?”
“You signed authorizations.”
“Which ones?”
“Several.”
“Were they legal?”
Charles’s face hardened.
“Do not ask questions you are not prepared to hear answered.”
Julian turned back.
“That sentence tells me everything.”
“No. It tells you that business is more complicated than your affair.”
Julian walked out.
For once, Charles did not stop him.
In Edinburgh, Claire listened to Eleanor’s recording with Mara on an encrypted call.
Mara remained silent for several seconds afterward.
“Do you know how Eleanor obtained this?”
“No.”
“We need provenance.”
“She says she recorded the meeting.”
“Massachusetts is an all-party consent state for private recordings.”
Claire’s stomach dropped.
“So we can’t use it?”
“I didn’t say that. I said we need to know where the meeting occurred, who consented, and what legal exceptions or other routes exist. The recording may be more useful as an investigative lead than courtroom evidence.”
“Meaning?”
“We use it to know what documents to subpoena.”
Claire nodded.
“That’s why I called you.”
“Good.”
Mara sounded pleased.
“Because three months ago you would have tried to win the entire case yourself.”
“I’m learning.”
“Slowly.”
Claire smiled.
Then Mara grew serious.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Julian has been removed from the Whitmore board.”
Claire blinked.
“Already?”
“Emergency vote.”
“Why?”
“Officially, concerns about inaccurate divorce disclosures.”
Claire almost laughed.
“They’re sacrificing him.”
“That’s my read.”
“Does he know?”
“I assume he has noticed.”
Claire looked out Ruth’s window.
Edinburgh rooftops shone after rain.
“What does that mean for us?”
“Possibly nothing. Possibly a lot.”
“How?”
“If Charles controlled the transactions but Julian signed them, Julian is both exposed and potentially useful.”
“I’m not rescuing him.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“I mean it.”
“So do I.”
Claire appreciated Mara’s firmness.
“You can cooperate with someone without forgiving them.”
The sentence stayed with Claire.
That afternoon, Claire collected Lily from a small park near Ruth’s flat.
Lily had been drawing with chalk.
“Look.”
On the pavement were four stick figures.
Claire.
Lily.
Noah.
And Julian.
He stood several inches away from the others.
Claire crouched.
“Why is Daddy over there?”
“Because he’s in Boston.”
Simple.
Geographical.
Not moral.
Children did not naturally divide love into deserving and undeserving.
Adults taught them that.
Claire sat beside her daughter.
“Daddy loves you.”
Lily looked at the drawing.
“Does Daddy love you?”
Claire’s throat tightened.
“Not the way husbands and wives should love each other.”
“Do you love Daddy?”
Claire considered lying.
Instead, she said, “I loved him for a long time.”
Lily nodded as if that answer made sense.
Claire wished it made sense to her.
That evening Julian finally reached her.
Claire answered only after the children were asleep.
“What?”
“Did you know Bianca wasn’t pregnant?”
“No.”
“Did Mara?”
“No.”
“Then how did she send that notice so fast?”
“Because the fake medical reimbursements were already connected to financial documents produced in our divorce.”
Silence.
Julian said, “You knew about Aster Bridge.”
“I knew the name.”
“You never told me.”
Claire almost hung up.
“I asked you about it for two years.”
“That wasn’t—”
“You told me I was obsessed.”
Julian stopped.
“You told me your father handled complicated things I wouldn’t understand. You told me every question I asked was proof I wanted money.”
“I was angry.”
“You were convenient.”
The word hit him.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Charles didn’t need you to understand anything. He needed you to sign.”
Julian’s breathing changed.
Claire continued.
“I have a recording from three years ago.”
“What recording?”
“I’m not sending it to you.”
“Claire.”
“It includes your father, your mother, and Evan Reed discussing removing me from the foundation committee because I was asking questions.”
Julian said nothing.
“They also discussed you.”
“What did they say?”
Claire hesitated.
Not to protect Charles.
To protect herself.
Then she answered.
“Charles said that by the time you understood what was happening, you would already have signed everything.”
Julian’s silence lasted so long Claire checked the screen.
“Julian?”
“I have to go.”
“Why?”
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He answered with a voice she had never heard before.
“Because I need to find out how many times my father used my name.”
