Chapter 16 - The Clause Thomas Hid
Rebecca read the codicil three times.
“It’s valid.”
Claire stared.
“You’re sure?”
“Signed.”
Rebecca pointed.
“Witnessed.”
Another signature appeared beneath Alexander’s.
Sarah Hale.
Claire’s biological mother had witnessed the document.
The implications were enormous.
If Claire’s DNA relationship to Alexander could be verified, she already owned the controlling interest.
No board vote could extinguish it.
No marital restructuring could create ownership Julian did not possess.
And Thomas had hidden the codicil because he knew Julian’s family had never seen it.
Claire called the laboratory that had tested Thomas’s DNA years earlier.
The archived sample still existed.
So did a preserved genetic sample from Alexander obtained during a medical procedure before his death.
Rebecca requested emergency verification.
Then Claire made a second call.
To Julian.
“I’ll sign.”
Silence.
“The marital agreement?”
“Yes.”
“Tomorrow morning?”
“Nine.”
“At Voss headquarters.”
“Bring Owen.”
Julian hesitated.
“He’ll be there.”
Claire ended the call.
Natalie stared at her.
“You’re actually going?”
“Yes.”
“To sign away everything?”
Claire looked at the hidden codicil.
“No.”
At 8:45 the next morning, Claire entered Voss Holdings headquarters.
Julian waited in the boardroom.
Owen sat beside him.
The boy looked terrified.
When he saw Natalie, he ran to her.
Julian did not stop him.
Lawyers surrounded the table.
Three board members joined remotely.
Evelyn was still missing.
Sarah was still missing.
Claire had one surviving document and one chance.
Julian slid the agreement toward her.
“Sign.”
Claire took the pen.
Then the boardroom doors opened.
Two federal investigators entered.
Julian stood.
“What is this?”
Claire smiled for the first time in days.
“Before I sign, I thought everyone should see Schedule C.”
Rebecca placed Alexander’s original trust on the table.
Julian’s face drained.
One of the attorneys read the codicil.
Then read it again.
“That’s impossible.”
Claire looked at Julian.
“No.”
“What was impossible was convincing me I needed you to inherit what was already mine.”
Julian stared at the document.
His confidence finally cracked.
Then Claire’s phone buzzed.
The DNA laboratory.
MATCH CONFIRMED.
Probability of parent-child relationship: 99.9994%.
Claire turned the screen toward the board.
The room went silent.
A board member removed his glasses.
“Ms. Whitmore.”
Claire looked at him.
He corrected himself.
“Ms. Voss.”
“Under this codicil, you have held controlling ownership since verification.”
Julian whispered, “No.”
Claire looked directly at her husband.
“Yes.”
Then one of the federal investigators approached Julian.
May you like
“And now we need to discuss your father.”
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