Chapter 12 — The Forgery

Rebecca stood by the bookshelf, watching us. I turned to her. “And what are you doing here?”

“Trying to keep Daniel from gaining control of the company.”

“By wearing my jewelry and kissing him?”

She took the accusation without flinching. “Daniel trusts very few people. For years I was one of them. I began reviewing the Bennett transaction after your engagement.

The structure was more aggressive than anything he’d proposed before. It wasn’t simply an acquisition. It was a transfer hidden inside a marriage.”

The phrase turned my stomach. “Your mother’s trust gives you controlling voting power once the marital designation is certified,” she went on. “Daniel planned to persuade you to acknowledge HB Coastal Ventures as the designated structure — to sign without understanding the effect.