Chapter 7 - THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLES WHITMORE
Charles was not responsible for the original fraud.
His father was.
Richard Whitmore had forged Rose’s signature thirty-two years earlier.
Charles had discovered the fraud only after his company purchased the block.
Then he covered it up.
Why?
Because admitting it would destroy the company his father built.
Emily understood something uncomfortable.
Charles was not a monster.
He was a frightened son protecting a dead father’s reputation.
“You know what that costs?” Emily asked him privately.
“Everything.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“It costs you yourself.”
Charles stared.
“My father made mistakes.”
“Then let them be his.”
The words hit him.
Two days before the hearing, Charles delivered the original corporate records to Emily’s attorney.
Evidence proving the fraud.
“Why?” she asked.
He looked exhausted.
“Because I’m tired of inheriting decisions I didn’t make.”
Whitmore Development withdrew its claim.
Carter’s Bakery belonged to Emily.
For the first time in months, she could breathe.
May you like
But when she turned to celebrate with William, his chair was empty.
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