Chapter 5 - THE SIGNATURE SHE NEVER GAVE
Vivian stared at the papers spread across Daniel Mercer's desk.
Her name appeared beneath three transfer authorizations.
Vivian Hale Draven.
The signature looked perfect.
Too perfect.
She had spent years examining forged signatures in financial investigations.
She knew what a copied signature looked like.
And this one was hers.
But she had never signed the documents.
“I didn't authorize these,” she whispered.
Daniel nodded.
“We'll investigate that.”
Vivian turned another page.
A transfer of eight hundred thousand dollars.
Another of one point two million.
Then three hundred and fifty thousand.
All connected to Blackwater Holdings.
Her stomach tightened.
“Someone used my signature.”
“Possibly.”
“Matteo?”
Daniel looked at her.
“We need evidence before assigning responsibility.”
Vivian nodded.
She knew he was right.
But her mind raced.
Matteo had access to her personal documents.
Her passport.
Her identification.
Her banking records.
He'd insisted on handling everything after they married.
She'd thought it was care.
Now she wondered whether it had been preparation.
The federal investigator assigned to the case was Special Agent Rebecca Sloan.
She was forty, direct, and patient.
She listened as Vivian explained her access to the Draven Foundation records.
Then she asked, “Did your husband know you were reviewing these transactions?”
Vivian nodded.
“He told me to stop.”
“When?”
“Eight months ago.”
“Did he threaten you?”
Vivian hesitated.
“He said I didn't understand what I was looking at.”
“Anything else?”
Vivian swallowed.
“He said some questions could get people hurt.”
Rebecca wrote something down.
“Did you interpret that as a threat?”
“Yes.”
The agent nodded.
“Thank you for being honest.”
Vivian looked toward Daniel.
“What happens now?”
Rebecca closed her notebook.
“We'll examine the records and follow the evidence. We may need to speak with you again.”
Vivian nodded.
Then the agent asked, “Do you know Victor Salerno?”
Vivian froze.
The name was familiar.
She had heard Matteo mention it once.
During an argument in his study.
She'd been passing the door when he said, “Salerno doesn't get another dollar.”
At the time, she hadn't thought much of it.
Now she looked up.
“I've heard the name.”
“Where?”
Vivian explained.
Rebecca's expression sharpened.
“Do you know whether your sister has met him?”
Vivian stared.
“Camille?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Are you certain?”
Vivian shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Rebecca nodded.
“We have reason to believe Ms. Hale may have been in contact with him.”
Vivian felt sick.
Camille.
Her sister.
The woman who had kissed her husband.
The woman who had lived in her home.
Had she been involved in something more dangerous than an affair?
Vivian pressed a hand to her stomach.
The baby kicked.
She closed her eyes.
“Please,” she whispered. “I just want my son to be safe.”
Rebecca's expression softened.
“We'll discuss safety concerns with your attorney.”
That evening, Vivian received a message from an unknown number.
You think Matteo is the danger.
She stared.
Another message appeared.
You have no idea who you're running from.
Then a photograph.
Eleanor's house.
Taken from across the street.
Vivian's blood ran cold.
She showed Daniel immediately.
He contacted the authorities.
Vivian and Eleanor moved to temporary accommodation arranged with appropriate security precautions.
Vivian hated leaving.
She hated packing again.
Hated feeling hunted.
But she refused to let fear push her back into Matteo's arms.
That night, she lay awake listening to the baby's movements.
Then her spare phone rang.
Unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Instead, she answered.
“Hello?”
A familiar voice whispered, “Viv?”
Vivian went still.
“Camille?”
Her sister began crying.
“I'm sorry.”
Vivian's throat tightened.
“What do you want?”
Camille's voice shook.
“I didn't know.”
“Didn't know what?”
“That he was going to hurt you.”
Vivian sat upright.
“Who?”
A pause.
Then Camille whispered a name.
“Victor Salerno.”
Vivian's heart pounded.
“What does he want?”
Camille began sobbing.
“The files.”
Vivian gripped the phone.
“Camille, where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because he's watching me.”
Vivian closed her eyes.
Then Camille said something that made her blood turn to ice.
“Vivian, Matteo didn't start the affair.”
Vivian stopped breathing.
“What?”
“I did.”
May you like
A pause.
“And I did it because Salerno told me to.”
