THE WRONG SIGNATURE part - 7

THE WRONG SIGNATURE

PART 7 — THE MIDNIGHT TRAP

The call came at 8:37 that evening.

Emma and Clara were in Thomas's study with a forensic accountant named Priya Shah. They had spent hours preserving files and changing access permissions for the company systems.

Clara's phone displayed Victor's name.

Priya told her to put it on speaker and began recording with the consent of everyone in the room.

"Clara," Victor said, "Emma is turning a misunderstanding into a criminal case."

Emma remained silent.

"The bank has frozen Thomas's money," Clara replied.

"It was never supposed to disappear. I was moving it temporarily to protect the company. Thomas's death created uncertainty. Suppliers could have panicked."

"Why did you forge his authorization?"

"I did not forge anything. Nolan processed a form Thomas signed."

"For five thousand dollars."

There was a short silence.

Victor changed direction.

"Thomas trusted me with that company. Emma has never wanted it. If she forces an investigation, eighty-four people could lose their jobs."

Emma leaned toward the phone.

"Those jobs were already at risk while you stole from the company."

Victor exhaled.

"I wondered whether I was on speaker."

"Where is Dad's laptop?"

"Safe."

"Return it."

"Call off the audit first. Tell the bank the transfer was authorized for company protection. Clara can confirm Thomas signed the form. In exchange, I will return the account funds and the laptop."

Clara's voice became steady.

"The bank already stopped the money."

Victor did not respond.

It was the first moment he understood that his leverage was gone.

Priya wrote a message on a notepad and turned it toward Clara: Ask where to meet.

Clara read it, then looked at Emma.

"If I agree," she said into the phone, "where would we exchange the statement for the laptop?"

Victor named an unfinished Reed Materials warehouse on the edge of the industrial district. Midnight. Clara was to come alone.

Police arrested him in the parking lot at 11:48 PM.

Thomas's laptop was in the trunk of his car. So were forged supplier records, two passports, and a bag containing more than thirty thousand dollars.

* * *

The funeral took place three days later.

For most of the service, Emma listened without crying. Drivers from Reed Materials filled two rows. Former employees came from other cities. One man told her Thomas had advanced him rent during a difficult winter and never mentioned it again.

Afterward, Emma and Clara stood together near the cemetery gate.

People approached Clara first because she was the widow. They approached Emma because she was the daughter. Each introduction briefly separated them into different kinds of grief.

When the last car left, Clara handed Emma the brown folder.

"You should keep this with the estate documents."

Inside was the original five-thousand-dollar authorization.

Emma looked at her father's signature.

"I blamed you before we knew anything."

"You were looking for the nearest explanation."

"That doesn't make it fair."

Clara looked toward Thomas's grave.

"Fairness has not been very available this week."

Emma closed the folder.

"Why didn't Dad tell me more about the company problem?"

"He tried. You were both waiting for the other person to make the conversation easier."

Emma remembered the voicemail.

"He wanted me to come home."

"He wanted you to choose it. He also knew that asking repeatedly made you resist him."

"He asked anyway."

Clara almost smiled.

"He was still Thomas."

They walked back to the car together.

* * *