{"id":16671,"date":"2026-09-22T15:17:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T15:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=16671"},"modified":"2026-09-22T15:17:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T15:17:24","slug":"part-9-martin-traced-the-false-collateral-documents-to-a-trusted-adviser-whose-name-had-been-missing-from-every-conversation-until-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=16671","title":{"rendered":"PART 9 \u2013 Martin Traced the False Collateral Documents to a Trusted Adviser Whose Name Had Been Missing From Every Conversation Until Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Martin did not answer Valerie\u2019s question immediately.<\/p>\n<p>She stood near the windows of Ernest and Theresa\u2019s living room with the phone pressed to her ear, watching the reflection of her family in the dark glass. Matthew had returned to the sofa. Theresa sat beside him, rigid and pale. Ernest remained in his armchair, both hands resting on the head of his cane.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need until morning,\u201d Martin finally said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cValerie, there are corporate registries, lender filings, property records\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen start with signatures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi came closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPut him on speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie did.<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s voice filled the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Bennett family home lien bothers me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ernest looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Alexander\u2019s power of attorney over your investment accounts does not automatically give him authority over real property.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t,\u201d Naomi confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>Theresa turned toward her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how could our house be collateral?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what we need to establish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued. \u201cSomeone either had separate authority, obtained your signatures, or represented to the lender that the authority existed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ernest\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI signed nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeither did I,\u201d Theresa said.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked at Naomi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForgery?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly. Or incomplete documentation that the lender expected to perfect before closing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m pulling the county records now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie paced once across the carpet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Bennett Center?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s different,\u201d Naomi said. \u201cAlexander and Richard may have had a path through the old facility agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI haven\u2019t finished reviewing four years of amendments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie hated uncertainty, but tonight it surrounded everything.<\/p>\n<p>Her phone buzzed with another incoming call.<\/p>\n<p>Camille.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie stared at the name.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew noticed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She almost declined.<\/p>\n<p>Then something Martin had said earlier returned to her.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone Alexander trusted had become part of the financing.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps everyone he deceived had become part of the evidence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCamille.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Theresa stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>Ernest muttered, \u201cWonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie stepped into the hallway before answering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Camille\u2019s voice was strained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I found documents in the Greenwich house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie\u2019s attention sharpened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat documents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly. Contracts. Copies of passports. Company papers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose passports?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlexander\u2019s. Richard Cole\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked back through the open doorway toward Naomi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t touch anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI already did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStay there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Camille exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think I should.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone was here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter you left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The hairs along Valerie\u2019s arms lifted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went upstairs to pack. When I came down, one of the desk drawers in Alexander\u2019s study was open. I know it had been closed before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything missing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCall the police.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I\u2019m not sure there was a break-in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think Alexander sent someone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Camille\u2019s silence answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll send Martin\u2019s people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen leave. Take photographs of nothing else. Bring only what is unquestionably yours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about the documents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeave them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Camille hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s something with your name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA trust document.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich trust?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t tell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead the heading.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paper rustled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBennett Family Legacy Trust, Restatement and Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie\u2019s pulse quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat date?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJanuary fourteenth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This year.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie had signed no trust amendment in January.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes it have my signature?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCamille?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie gripped the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPhotograph every page without moving them from the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi appeared in the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie mouthed, Forged signature.<\/p>\n<p>Naomi\u2019s expression changed instantly.<\/p>\n<p>Camille took the photographs.<\/p>\n<p>One after another, they arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie forwarded them to Naomi.<\/p>\n<p>The first page looked professional.<\/p>\n<p>The second contained trustee provisions.<\/p>\n<p>The third purported to authorize Alexander Bennett and Richard Cole to act jointly on certain investment decisions without Valerie\u2019s additional consent.<\/p>\n<p>The final page contained three signatures.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander Bennett.<\/p>\n<p>Richard Cole.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie Bennett.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie stared at her own name.<\/p>\n<p>It looked convincing.<\/p>\n<p>Not perfect.<\/p>\n<p>But convincing.<\/p>\n<p>Naomi enlarged it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs that yours?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re certain?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The document was notarized.<\/p>\n<p>Naomi looked lower.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNotary: Susan Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie read the name twice.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>The shell company.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer Coastal.<\/p>\n<p>Richard\u2019s supposed Mercer meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat can\u2019t be coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi agreed.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie returned to the call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCamille, do you recognize Susan Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHas Alexander ever mentioned her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTake the photographs and leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Camille\u2019s voice dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cValerie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>This was not the moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeave the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She ended the call.<\/p>\n<p>Martin received the images seconds later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGive me ten minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have five.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This time Martin did not object.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie returned to the living room.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew saw her face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone forged my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Theresa whispered, \u201cAlexander?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ernest looked toward Naomi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does the document do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf valid, it could broaden Alexander and Richard\u2019s authority over family trust assets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy trust?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room fell silent again.<\/p>\n<p>Four minutes later Martin called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have Susan Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFormer paralegal. Later became a mobile notary in Connecticut and New York.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFormerly employed where?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole, Bennett &amp; Wexler.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBennett?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo relation to Alexander. Small commercial law firm. Richard Cole\u2019s older brother founded it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard has a brother?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie knew he did.<\/p>\n<p>She had simply never thought of him as relevant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStephen Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStephen handled some early legal work for Bennett Development before your current outside counsel took over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie remembered him now.<\/p>\n<p>Older than Richard by seven years.<\/p>\n<p>Polished.<\/p>\n<p>Reserved.<\/p>\n<p>He had attended her wedding.<\/p>\n<p>Then largely disappeared from her professional life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Stephen involved with Mercer Coastal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m checking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s keyboard clicked faintly through the phone.<\/p>\n<p>Then stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cActually, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe St. Lucia law firm\u2019s original engagement letter was referred by Stephen Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel, who had joined them after leaving the airport, swore softly.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked toward Naomi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard\u2019s brother built the legal structure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Susan Mercer worked for Stephen until eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did Alexander begin looking at the resort?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No one needed to say it.<\/p>\n<p>The timing aligned.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie sat.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, the scheme had a shape larger than Alexander\u2019s resentment.<\/p>\n<p>Richard knew the finances.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen knew the legal structures.<\/p>\n<p>Susan Mercer could notarize documents.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander supplied access.<\/p>\n<p>But Valerie still could not tell whether her husband had built the scheme or simply stepped into one designed for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFind Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m trying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe appears to have moved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo current address yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie almost laughed from exhaustion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSusan Mercer\u2019s notary commission expired seven months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi looked sharply toward the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe January document was notarized this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen the notarization is invalid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore than invalid if she knowingly backdated or falsely represented authority.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked again at the photographed amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Someone had needed her signature badly enough to manufacture it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCould this document have been used for the resort financing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlmost certainly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Alexander knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe cannot assume that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis signature is on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat establishes he signed. Not necessarily that he watched yours being forged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew had been silent.<\/p>\n<p>Now he spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCall Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie considered it.<\/p>\n<p>Naomi shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew\u2019s frustration surfaced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy does everyone keep saying not yet?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause if Alexander knows we found a forged document, he may warn whoever created it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s my father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd right now he is also a principal in a disputed transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie stepped between them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNaomi is right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course she is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMatthew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, I understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He picked up his jacket.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re all playing chess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m protecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what Dad probably tells himself too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The words struck harder than he intended.<\/p>\n<p>His face changed immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie raised a hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. Keep that thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked confused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople become dangerous when they convince themselves control is the same as protection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She glanced toward Ernest and Theresa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father may have done exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew slowly lowered his jacket.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Martin again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found Susan Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot where. When.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe died in November.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went completely still.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked at the January notarization.<\/p>\n<p>Two months after Susan Mercer\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>Naomi took the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCause?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCancer. Public obituary. Nothing suspicious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie felt cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo someone used a dead woman\u2019s notary identity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd forged my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ernest spoke from across the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRichard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Alexander wouldn\u2019t know how.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The simplicity of it cut through everything.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander understood hotels, investments, negotiation.<\/p>\n<p>Richard understood internal financial architecture.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen understood legal documentation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin,\u201d Valerie said, \u201cwhere is Richard now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll check.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cImmediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Martin\u2019s team searched, Valerie called building security.<\/p>\n<p>Richard had left Bennett Center forty minutes earlier.<\/p>\n<p>His access card had been surrendered.<\/p>\n<p>His office was sealed.<\/p>\n<p>No one knew where he had gone.<\/p>\n<p>At 10:18 p.m., Martin called again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis apartment is empty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravel records?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing commercial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrivate flight?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChecking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi looked toward Valerie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis original plan was Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlexander moved first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Richard may have moved too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At 10:31, Martin found the answer.<\/p>\n<p>A private aircraft had departed Teterboro at 8:55.<\/p>\n<p>Destination: Antigua.<\/p>\n<p>Passenger manifest listed four people.<\/p>\n<p>Richard Cole.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Cole.<\/p>\n<p>Two names Valerie did not recognize.<\/p>\n<p>Susan Mercer was not among them.<\/p>\n<p>She could not be.<\/p>\n<p>But the dead woman\u2019s credentials were traveling with them in every document they had created.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAntigua?\u201d Daniel asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot St. Lucia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin answered. \u201cShort flight from Antigua. Easier private banking connections too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked at Naomi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we stop them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot from traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we freeze anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need evidence tied to accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI may have that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another document arrived.<\/p>\n<p>A wire schedule.<\/p>\n<p>Three offshore accounts.<\/p>\n<p>One in Antigua.<\/p>\n<p>One in the Cayman Islands.<\/p>\n<p>One in Switzerland.<\/p>\n<p>The planned transfers were not twenty-eight million.<\/p>\n<p>They totaled sixty-three million dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie read the figure twice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere would sixty-three million come from?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin answered slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is what worries me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first transfer source was Mercer Coastal financing.<\/p>\n<p>The second referenced Bennett Strategic.<\/p>\n<p>The third carried a name Valerie knew better than her own.<\/p>\n<p>Bennett Development Reserve Holdings.<\/p>\n<p>Her company.<\/p>\n<p>Her reserve account.<\/p>\n<p>Forty-one million dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie stared at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel whispered, \u201cThey\u2019re not financing a resort.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie finally understood.<\/p>\n<p>The resort might exist.<\/p>\n<p>The land might be real.<\/p>\n<p>The plans might be real.<\/p>\n<p>But something else had been built underneath it.<\/p>\n<p>A mechanism capable of moving enormous sums through legitimate-looking transactions.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander had believed he was proving he could create a future without Valerie.<\/p>\n<p>Richard and Stephen may have been using that desperation for something far larger.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie reached for her phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCall Alexander.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naomi did not stop her this time.<\/p>\n<p>The satellite connection took nearly three minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander answered sounding irritated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie did not mention the forged signature.<\/p>\n<p>She did not mention Susan Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>She asked only one question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alexander paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew York, I assume.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe left the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAntigua.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alexander said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Valerie listened carefully.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time since Tuesday, she heard something in her husband\u2019s voice she believed without reservation.<\/p>\n<p>Fear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cValerie,\u201d he said, \u201cRichard is supposed to be in New York until tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently Richard changed his plans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then Alexander asked, very quietly, \u201cDid he take Stephen with him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked at Naomi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alexander swore.<\/p>\n<p>Not angrily.<\/p>\n<p>Fearfully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlexander.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat aren\u2019t you telling me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His breathing changed.<\/p>\n<p>When he answered, the arrogance was gone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not let any money leave Bennett Development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie\u2019s grip tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Mercer was never supposed to have access to your company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valerie looked at the sixty-three-million-dollar transfer schedule.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt already does.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=16672\">Click here to continue reading: PART 10: Alexander\u2019s Panic Revealed He Had Hidden One Final Agreement, and Its Missing Page Could Decide Who Actually Controlled the Sixty-Three Million Dollars<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Martin did not answer Valerie\u2019s question immediately. She stood near the windows of Ernest and Theresa\u2019s living room with the phone pressed to her ear, watching the reflection of her &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16699,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16671\/revisions\/16699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}