Chapter 15 - THE SIGNATURE
Clara was waiting at home when I returned.
I placed the document on the table between us.
Her signature appeared on the final page.
It transferred her voting shares to a trust controlled by Damian.
“I don’t remember signing this,” she said.
“Helena claims you did.”
“I signed many papers while I was sedated.”
Nathan examined the document.
The signature appeared genuine.
A hidden camera recording later confirmed what happened.
Damian placed papers in front of Clara while she sat at the breakfast table.
Her eyes were unfocused.
Sienna stood nearby.
“Julian needs these signed,” Damian said.
Clara attempted to read them.
The letters blurred.
She asked to wait.
Damian moved the pen into her hand.
“If you delay the acquisition, Julian will blame you.”
Clara signed.
The footage showed no physical violence.
The defense intended to argue that she acted willingly.
Nathan disagreed.
“Consent obtained through deception and chemical impairment is not valid.”
“But the shares may remain frozen until a civil ruling,” I said.
“Yes.”
Those shares carried enough voting power to influence control of the company.
Damian had transferred them from his trust to a holding corporation hours before his arrest.
The corporation was owned by Victor Lang and two foreign investors.
Although the criminal conspiracy was exposed, recovering Clara’s shares could take months.
Vale Global faced an emergency shareholder vote.
Victor’s group intended to remove me as chairman and sell several divisions.
Thousands of employees could lose their jobs.
Clara stared at the document.
“This is my fault.”
“No.”
“I signed it.”
“You were drugged.”
“I still put my name there.”
I understood why logic could not erase her guilt.
Helena had trained her to accept responsibility for other people’s crimes.
Clara looked at Nathan.
“Can I testify at the shareholder hearing?”
“You can.”
“Then I will.”
The meeting was scheduled in ten days.
During that time, Clara prepared obsessively.
She reviewed financial records.
She studied the legal history of the shares.
She practiced answering hostile questions.
Some nights, she woke shaking.
Each morning, she returned to the desk.
“I founded the company with you,” she reminded me.
“You did.”
“Then I will not let them use me to destroy it.”
The night before the hearing, Marcus discovered a listening device beneath Clara’s desk.
It had been installed after Conrad’s arrest.
Someone inside our current security circle was still working for Helena.
Marcus reviewed access records.
Only four people entered the room.
Clara.
Me.
Nathan.
May you like
And Tessa Ward.
The former Army medic who treated Clara on the night I returned.
