Chapter 4: The Second Signature
“Because she wasn't the only person who signed the agreement.””
Claire's words settled over the driveway like a threat.
I stared at her, barely aware of the people standing around us. My mother had gone completely still. Richard stood near the porch railing, his face drained of color. Even Madison had lowered her phone.
“What do you mean?”” I asked Claire.
She glanced at Daniel.
He nodded once, reluctantly.
Claire took a breath.
“The agreement that kept Dad away from you had two signatures. Your mother's was the first. The second belonged to someone who had legal authority over your father's business and access to our family trust.””
“Who?””
My mother suddenly lunged toward the document in my hand.
“Give me that!””
Daniel caught her wrist before she could reach me.
“Don't touch her.””
Vanessa jerked away as if his fingers had burned her.
“You have no right to come into my home and threaten me!””
Daniel's voice remained quiet.
“I haven't threatened you, Vanessa. I've spent fourteen years trying to find my daughter. You threatened me when you made me believe she was dead.””
Madison stepped between them.
“Can someone explain what is happening? Why are you talking about signatures and money? And why is everyone acting like Jasmine is some kind of princess?””
I looked at her.
For once, she wasn't smiling.
Daniel turned toward Madison.
“Because your stepsister was the victim of a crime.””
Madison laughed nervously.
“That's ridiculous. My mother would never—”
“Madison!”” Vanessa snapped.
The sharpness of her voice made Madison recoil.
Richard stared at his wife.
“Let her finish her sentence, Vanessa. You have spent years telling us that Jasmine's father abandoned her. Now we discover a payment, a forged death certificate, and a trust worth twenty million dollars. I think we deserve some answers.””
My mother looked around the driveway as though searching for an ally.
Her eyes settled on Madison.
“Tell them,” she said.
Madison blinked.
“Tell them what?””
“Tell them what your father said before he died.””
The air seemed to leave the driveway.
Madison's face turned white.
I looked from her to my mother.
“What does her father have to do with my father?””
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Claire opened her handbag and removed a second document.
“My biological father was Michael Brooks,” she said, looking at Madison.
“He wasn't only Richard's older brother. He was the man who managed the Reed family trust before Grandpa died.””
Richard staggered backward.
“No.””
Claire nodded, tears gathering in her eyes.
“Michael had access to the accounts. He knew about Jasmine's inheritance before anyone else did.””
Madison looked at her mother.
“Mom, what is she talking about?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Claire is confused. Her father was never involved in anything illegal.””
“Then why did he sign this?”” Claire asked.
She held the paper toward Richard.
He took it with trembling hands.
At the bottom was a signature.
*Michael Brooks.*
Beside it was a date.
The same date as Vanessa's agreement.
Richard stared at his brother's name as though it had risen from the grave.
“Michael was dead by the time I married Vanessa,” he whispered.
“Yes,” Claire replied.
“He died six months later. But before he died, he transferred money out of Jasmine's trust and into an offshore account.””
Richard looked up.
“How much?””
“Eight million dollars.””
Madison covered her mouth.
My mother backed away.
Daniel continued, “The original agreement required Vanessa to keep Jasmine away from me until her eighteenth birthday. Michael's signature authorized the transfer of the money and granted Vanessa access to the account.””
“But why?”” I asked.
“Why would Michael care about me?””
Claire's eyes softened.
“Because Grandpa had changed his will. Michael was supposed to inherit control of the family business. Instead, Grandpa left you a separate trust and gave Dad the voting shares that Michael expected to receive.””
I frowned.
“So he stole my money because he was angry?””
“Not exactly,” Daniel said.
“He believed the trust should have been his. When your grandfather died, Michael discovered that he couldn't legally access your inheritance without a trustee's authorization.””
“And Mom gave him that authorization?””
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“No. That's not what happened.””
Claire turned toward her.
“Then explain it.””
My mother looked at Daniel.
“You know what Michael was like. He could be charming when he wanted something. He told me that if I signed the agreement, he'd help me secure a future for Jasmine. He said Daniel would eventually forget about us, and I could raise my daughter in peace.””
Daniel's expression hardened.
“You knew I was searching for her.””
“I knew you were asking questions.””
“I sent investigators to every address I had. I contacted hospitals. I hired people to locate you. I even went to the police when the death certificate appeared.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“And Michael told me you would destroy us if you found Jasmine.””
“Destroy you?”” Daniel repeated.
“You were the one who took my child away.””
Richard raised a hand.
“Enough. Vanessa, did you know Michael had stolen eight million dollars?””
She shook her head.
“I never saw that money.””
“Did you know about the trust?””
“I knew there was an inheritance. I didn't know how much.””
Daniel studied her face.
“That's a lie.””
My mother flinched.
“You don't know anything about what I went through!””
“I know you accepted two million dollars to disappear. I know you hid my letters. I know you told your daughter I was dead.””
His voice broke on the last word.
“I know I spent fourteen years mourning a child who was alive.””
For the first time, my mother had no answer.
I looked down at the document in my hand.
Eight million dollars stolen.
Two million paid to my mother.
Twenty million waiting in a trust.
And a family that had apparently been fighting over my existence before I was old enough to speak.
“Where is the rest of the money?”” I asked.
Claire looked at Daniel.
He hesitated.
Then he said, “That's what we came here to find out.””
My mother shook her head rapidly.
“I don't know.””
“Michael's accounts were frozen after his death,” Daniel explained.
“Some of the money was recovered. The rest disappeared into a series of transfers that led to a company registered under another name.””
“What company?”” Richard asked.
Daniel reached into his jacket and removed a folded sheet.
He opened it.
The company name was printed at the top.
*Brooks Family Holdings.*
Richard stared at the page.
“That was my brother's company.””
“It's now registered to you,” Daniel said.
Richard looked as though someone had struck him.
“What?””
“Michael transferred ownership shortly before he died. We believe the company was used to conceal the missing funds.””
“I never received eight million dollars!””
“Then someone used your name without your knowledge.””
Richard looked at Vanessa.
She was crying silently now, her hands pressed against her mouth.
“Did you know about this?”” he asked her.
She shook her head.
But she couldn't meet his eyes.
Madison suddenly stepped forward.
“Why are you all talking as if Dad was some criminal? He was a good man!””
Claire's expression softened.
“I loved my father too, Madison. I was only five when he died. I don't want to believe he did these things any more than you do.””
“Then stop accusing him!””
“I'm not accusing him. The documents are.””
Madison turned toward me.
“This is your fault.””
The words struck me so unexpectedly that I stared at her.
“My fault?””
“You show up with a car, and suddenly everyone's talking about millions of dollars and dead relatives. You always have to make everything about yourself!””
Richard stepped forward.
“Madison, stop.””
“No! She gets everything! She gets the new car, she gets a rich father, and now she gets twenty million dollars while I get nothing!””
I looked at her in disbelief.
“I didn't ask for any of this.””
“You don't have to ask! Things just happen for you!””
I glanced at the Highlander.
The gift that had started the morning's argument now seemed like a joke. My stepsister had accused me of wanting her Mercedes, but I would have traded every car in that driveway for one ordinary childhood in which I knew who my father was.
“I would give every dollar away,” I told her, “if it meant I could get back the years everyone stole from me.””
Madison's mouth tightened.
“Easy for you to say when you're the one getting the money.””
“Madison,” Richard warned.
She spun around and stormed toward the house.
Vanessa started after her.
Daniel called out, “Vanessa, we aren't finished.””
She stopped at the doorway.
For a moment, she looked back at me.
Something passed across her face that I couldn't identify. Regret, perhaps. Or fear.
Then she disappeared inside.
Richard followed her, leaving me alone with Daniel and Claire.
I looked at my father.
“Is this why you came today? Because of the money?””
He looked devastated.
“No, sweetheart.””
“Then why didn't you come yesterday? Or last year? Or when I turned ten?””
“Because I believed you were dead.””
“You believed a piece of paper over your own daughter?””
His eyes filled.
“I was wrong to accept it as the final answer. I should have fought harder.””
The honesty in his voice hurt more than an excuse would have.
Claire slipped her hand into mine.
“Jasmine, Dad isn't asking you to forgive him today. He only wants a chance to know you.””
I looked at her.
“And what do you want?””
She gave a small, sad smile.
“A sister.””
Before I could respond, Richard returned to the porch.
He held a small black folder.
“I found this in Vanessa's desk,” he said.
“I think you should see it.””
Daniel took the folder.
Inside were bank statements, old correspondence, and a handwritten note dated two days before Michael Brooks died.
Daniel read it silently.
Then his face changed.
“What is it?”” Claire asked.
He handed the note to Richard.
Richard read the first line, and his knees seemed to weaken.
I reached for the paper.
The message was short.
If Daniel ever finds Jasmine, make sure she never learns what happened the night her grandfather died.
I looked up.
“My grandfather died before I was three. What could possibly have happened that night?””
Richard turned the page over.
There was one final sentence written in red ink.
The child saw everything.
May you like
And suddenly, everyone was looking at me.
As if the truth they had spent seventeen years hiding might already be inside my own forgotten memories.
