Chapter 2 - The Blind Signature
I zoomed in on the photograph until the pixels blurred, my chest heaving as the reality of the document finally snapped into focus.
It wasn't a standard vendor agreement or a tax form. It was an irrevocable Power of Attorney and a complete transfer of assets.
My mind spun violently backward to three days ago. I had been sitting at the kitchen island, furiously texting Olivia under the table to arrange our Boston hotel, when Hannah placed a stack of "routine insurance renewals" in front of me. I had been so distracted, so incredibly arrogant, that I hadn't read a single line. I just signed where she pointed so I could get back to my mistress.
With a few strokes of a pen, I had legally given Hannah the authority to liquidate our accounts, sell the house, and transfer the controlling shares of my investment firm.
I scrambled out of the broken kitchen window, ignoring the glass tearing through my expensive trousers. I threw myself into my car, the tires screeching against the asphalt as I sped toward my office in downtown Stamford.
If she had the business records, she had the offshore accounts. The unregistered bonuses. The shadow ledgers I used to fund my secret life with Olivia.
I arrived at my corporate building just as the sun crested the horizon. I sprinted through the revolving doors and slammed my keycard against the security turnstile.
Access Denied.
I swiped it again.
Access Denied.
Panic clawed at my throat. I vaulted over the turnstile, ignoring the shouts of the lobby security guard, and threw myself into the elevator, pounding the button for the 40th floor.
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I burst through the glass doors of Whitman Capital, fully expecting to find my employees arriving for the morning shift.
Instead, I found absolute, terrifying silence.
