Chapter 10 - The Dead Woman's Signature.
Edmund did not deny that the ring was his.
He sat behind the enormous desk in his study while Adrian placed it in a clear evidence bag between them.
"Graham stole it from my room."
Claire stood beside the window.
"When?"
"The night you fell."
"Convenient again."
Edmund ignored the insult.
Adrian put Evelyn's tape recorder on the desk.
His grandfather's face changed before a single word played.
"Where did you find that?"
"You knew the tapes existed."
Edmund leaned back slowly.
"Your mother recorded everyone when she became ill."
"She admitted helping you steal."
"I know what she admitted."
Adrian's voice broke with anger.
"Did Graham kill Thomas Bennett?"
Edmund looked at Claire.
For the first time since the fall, she saw shame rather than calculation.
"Yes."
Claire's knees nearly weakened.
She had expected the answer.
Hearing it still felt like being pushed from the balcony again.
"And you covered it up."
Edmund closed his eyes.
"I covered up the fraud."
"You covered up the murder when you learned about it."
"Yes."
Adrian struck the desk with his palm.
"Why?"
Edmund's voice became hoarse.
"Because Evelyn had signed the transfers."
He believed exposing Graham would expose Evelyn, destroy Vale Holdings, bankrupt thousands of employees, and send his daughter to prison.
So he paid Thomas's widow a secret settlement disguised as life insurance.
He pressured investigators to close the crash case.
He told himself he was protecting his family.
Claire stared at him.
"You protected the man who killed my father."
Edmund did not argue.
"Yes."
The admission filled the room with something worse than shouting.
Adrian turned away from him.
"Did you try to kill Claire?"
Edmund answered immediately.
"No."
"Did you know the balcony was sabotaged?"
Another immediate answer.
"No."
Claire studied his face.
She believed he was capable of cruelty.
She no longer knew whether he was capable of that lie.
Edmund opened a drawer and removed a sealed envelope.
"Your mother left this for you."
Adrian stared at it.
"You kept it eight years?"
"She made me promise to give it to you only if Graham ever came after someone you loved."
Adrian snatched the envelope.
Inside was a notarized statement signed by Evelyn two weeks before her death.
She described the fraud, Graham's theft, Thomas's murder, and Edmund's cover-up.
At the bottom was a second signature.
Thomas Bennett.
Claire stopped breathing.
The date beside his signature was three days after his supposed death.
"That's impossible."
Edmund looked at her.
"It is not his signature."
Claire compared it to old documents on her phone.
It looked perfect.
Edmund continued.
"Graham forged Thomas's name after he died."
"Why?"
"To create a confession that would make Thomas appear responsible if the fraud was discovered."
Claire read the statement again.
One line did not fit.
The forged signature appeared beneath language blaming Graham.
Why would Graham forge a dead man's name onto a document accusing himself?
Then Adrian noticed the notary seal.
The notary was Graham Holt.
Claire's blood went cold.
"This wasn't made to frame my father."
She looked at Edmund.
"It was made to frame Evelyn."
If investigators ever found the statement, Graham could claim Evelyn had fabricated evidence and forged Thomas's posthumous signature.
Edmund stared at the page as if seeing the trap for the first time.
Then the study doors opened.
Two police officers entered.
Behind them stood Graham.
He pointed at Adrian.
"That's him."
May you like
The officers moved forward.
"Adrian Vale, you're under arrest for the kidnapping and assault of Mara Ruiz."
