Chapter 4: The Original Agreement
For a second, I couldn't breathe.
“Mine?”” I whispered.
Michael nodded.
“Your name is the last thing he wrote.””
Across the courtroom, Benjamin was watching us.
He couldn't hear the conversation, but he knew something had changed.
He leaned toward Richard.
“What are they talking about?””
Richard shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Dorothy turned toward them.
“What is happening?””
Benjamin's eyes never left me.
Judge Hawkins lifted the second envelope.
“Mr. Peterson, before we proceed, I want to be clear. If these documents are as significant as you suggest, I will need an explanation for why they are being introduced at this stage.””
Michael stood.
“Understood, Your Honor.””
He opened the envelope.
“This is the original corporate formation agreement for Carter Strategic Solutions.””
Benjamin suddenly stood.
“That company doesn't exist anymore.””
Judge Hawkins looked at him.
“Mr. Carter, sit down.””
“But—”
“Sit.””
He sat.
Michael continued.
“The company was formed nine years ago, approximately one year before the respondent's marriage to Mr. Carter.””
Richard stood.
“Your Honor, this is irrelevant to the marital estate.””
Michael turned toward him.
“Then you may want to explain why Mr. Carter listed Mrs. Carter as a founding partner in the original agreement.””
Richard's face tightened.
I watched Benjamin.
He looked stunned.
Not because he had forgotten.
Because he had hoped no one would remember.
Judge Hawkins looked at the document.
“Mrs. Carter, did you know you were listed as a founding partner?””
“No.””
“Did you sign this?””
I looked at the signature.
It was mine.
But I remembered signing it.
Suddenly, the memory came rushing back.
A tiny office.
A borrowed desk.
Benjamin sitting across from me with a stack of papers.
He had smiled.
“It's just paperwork, Emma.””
I had laughed.
“You're the businessman. I'm just here to help.””
He had reached across the desk and squeezed my hand.
“That's why I trust you.””
I remembered signing.
But I hadn't understood what I was signing.
Michael pointed to a paragraph.
“This agreement establishes Mrs. Carter as a twelve-percent equity holder and assigns her ownership of the original marketing framework that became the company's primary commercial asset.””
Richard objected.
“Objection. Characterization.””
“Sustained in part,” Judge Hawkins said.
“Mr. Peterson, stick to the document.””
“Yes, Your Honor.””
He turned the page.
“Now, this is the transfer agreement Mr. Carter relied upon to remove Mrs. Carter's twelve-percent interest.””
He placed the second document beside the first.
Judge Hawkins examined both.
“The signatures appear identical.””
Michael nodded.
“They do.””
Richard said, “That proves nothing.””
Michael looked at him.
“Except that the second document was signed two years after the original.””
Benjamin's head snapped toward him.
“That isn't possible.””
I looked at Benjamin.
“You just said that.””
He stared at me.
Richard whispered something to him.
Benjamin shook his head.
“No. That's not right.””
Judge Hawkins looked over the documents again.
“Mr. Carter, are you disputing the date?””
“Yes.””
“Do you have evidence?””
Richard rose.
“We'll need time to review the documents.””
Judge Hawkins nodded.
“You'll have an opportunity.””
Benjamin's breathing had become visibly heavier.
Dorothy suddenly spoke from behind him.
“This is absurd. My son built that company.””
Judge Hawkins looked at her.
“Mrs. Carter, if you continue interrupting, I will have the bailiff remove you.””
Dorothy's mouth fell shut.
Michael reached for another paper.
“And this is the transfer authorization from that twelve-percent interest.””
Judge Hawkins read it.
Her expression hardened.
“Mr. Peterson, whose signature is this?””
“Mrs. Carter's.””
I looked down.
There it was.
My name.
Again.
But this time, the signature looked wrong.
The letters were too careful.
Too slow.
My real signature had always leaned slightly to the right.
This one didn't.
I had noticed the difference months ago.
Michael had noticed too.
A handwriting expert had confirmed it.
Benjamin's attorney had been given the report.
They had ignored it.
Now they couldn't.
Judge Hawkins looked at Benjamin.
“Mr. Carter, do you know who prepared this transfer?””
“No.””
“Who witnessed it?””
“I don't know.””
“Who notarized it?””
Benjamin swallowed.
“I don't remember.””
Michael said quietly, “The notary does.””
Richard turned sharply.
“Your Honor—”
Michael pulled out another document.
“The notary's log shows that Mrs. Carter was not present.””
The courtroom went silent.
I heard Veronica whisper, “Oh my God.””
Benjamin turned toward her.
“Shut up.””
She recoiled.
It was the first time I had ever seen him speak to her that way.
Judge Hawkins looked at Michael.
“Where was Mrs. Carter?””
Michael answered.
“According to travel records, she was in Boston.””
I nodded.
“I was.””
“On that exact date?””
“Yes.””
Michael handed the judge another page.
“Hotel records, airline records, and conference registration.””
Judge Hawkins looked at Benjamin.
“Mr. Carter, were you in Boston with your wife?””
“No.””
“Where were you?””
Benjamin hesitated.
“At the company office.””
“And did you meet the notary?””
“I don't remember.””
Judge Hawkins's voice became colder.
“That answer is becoming less useful by the minute.””
Benjamin lowered his eyes.
Richard stood.
“Your Honor, I request a recess.””
Judge Hawkins considered him.
“Granted. Twenty minutes.””
The courtroom erupted into quiet movement.
Chairs scraped.
Lawyers gathered documents.
Dorothy rushed toward Benjamin.
“What did you do?””
Benjamin looked at her.
“Not here.””
“You told me everything was handled.””
“I said not here.””
Veronica approached.
“Ben, you said there was nothing she could prove.””
He glared at her.
“I didn't know she had this.””
“Then what else does she have?””
He didn't answer.
I stood.
Michael gathered his folders.
“Don't look at them,” he said quietly.
“I wasn't going to.””
But Benjamin walked toward me.
Richard tried to stop him.
“Benjamin.””
He ignored him.
He stopped three feet away.
“You've been lying to me.””
I almost smiled.
“To you?””
“You knew about these documents.””
“I knew about some of them.””
“You've been setting me up.””
“No.””
His face twisted.
“Then what do you call this?””
“Evidence.””
He lowered his voice.
“You have no idea what you're doing.””
I looked directly into his eyes.
“For the first time in eight years, I know exactly what I'm doing.””
He stepped closer.
“You're destroying my life.””
I thought about the nights I had sat alone while he traveled with Veronica.
The bills I had paid from our joint account.
The company presentations I had prepared.
The dreams I had abandoned.
“No, Benjamin.””
I shook my head.
“I'm just refusing to let you destroy mine.””
His expression changed.
For one brief second, I saw fear.
Then Dorothy grabbed his arm.
“Benjamin. Now.””
He followed her away.
Michael waited until they were gone.
“You need to see something.””
“What?””
He handed me a photocopy.
It was the final page of my father-in-law's letter.
I read it.
Then I read it again.
My hands began to shake.
The last sentence wasn't about the company.
It wasn't even about the money.
It was about Benjamin.
*Emma, if you're reading this, Benjamin has already discovered what I left you.*
I looked at Michael.
“What did he leave me?””
Michael's face was grim.
“We don't know.””
“Then what does that mean?””
He looked toward the courtroom doors.
“Because your father-in-law died before he could tell anyone where he hid it.””
The doors opened.
A court clerk stepped inside.
“Mr. Peterson?””
“Yes?””
“There is a woman outside asking for you.””
“Who?””
The clerk glanced at me.
“She says her name is Margaret Carter.””
I froze.
Benjamin's father's sister.
May you like
A woman who had disappeared from the family years before.
And according to Dorothy, she had been dead.
