Chapter 2 - THE SIGNATURE I NEVER GAVE
I had spent five years trying to separate my professional life from Marcus Mercer.
Now I was staring at a document suggesting I had authorized a transaction for his company after our marriage had already ended.
Julian showed me only the identifying details necessary to explain the concern. The underlying acquisition materials remained with Rhodes Capital's independent diligence team.
The document was titled:
COMPLIANCE REVIEW AND RISK ACCEPTANCE — MERCER FINANCIAL SYSTEMS
At the bottom appeared my name.
Evelyn Bennett.
Beneath it was a signature that looked disturbingly similar to mine.
But the date was wrong.
And so was the job title.
"I wasn't employed by Mercer Financial Systems when this was supposedly approved," I said.
Julian nodded.
"Our team noticed the employment dates didn't match."
"What does the approval concern?"
"Payments to an outside consulting firm."
"Which firm?"
Julian hesitated.
"That's part of the ongoing review. I don't want to compromise the process by giving you information I shouldn't."
I appreciated his caution, even though I hated the uncertainty.
Five years earlier, I'd left Marcus's company after discovering serious discrepancies in its vendor-payment records.
At the time, Marcus told me I was overreacting.
He insisted that the accounting issues were temporary administrative mistakes.
Then I found Chloe in our kitchen, barefoot and wearing his shirt.
Within weeks, our marriage was over.
I'd preserved copies of records I had lawfully obtained through my work and consulted an independent attorney about the compliance concerns.
I hadn't distributed the files or used them to threaten Marcus.
I'd simply refused to pretend I'd never seen them.
Now one of those old transactions seemed to have resurfaced.
Across the ballroom, Marcus was watching us.
Chloe whispered something into his ear.
He immediately checked his phone.
Then he approached.
"Julian, I was hoping we could discuss the transaction privately."
Julian's expression remained calm.
"Not tonight. Our acquisition team will contact your representatives."
Marcus glanced at me.
"Has Evelyn been talking about our old business?"
I stared at him.
"Your company submitted a document bearing my name."
His expression changed.
"What document?"
Julian answered carefully.
"That's being reviewed."
Marcus laughed.
"There must be a misunderstanding. Evelyn handled compliance before she left."
"Then the employment records should help establish what she did and didn't approve," Julian replied.
Chloe touched Marcus's arm.
"We should go."
But Marcus wasn't finished.
He looked at me.
"Don't let personal history interfere with something this important."
I almost laughed.
He'd brought our personal history into the conversation the moment he tried to humiliate me.
Now he wanted it kept separate because the financial consequences might affect him.
"I have no intention of interfering with a legitimate transaction," I said. "But I won't accept responsibility for a document I didn't sign."
His jaw tightened.
Julian stepped beside me.
"Evelyn has her own attorney. Any concern involving her identity should be handled through the appropriate process."
Marcus looked between us.
Then he walked away.
For the rest of the reception, I tried to focus on Olivia and her new husband.
Emma danced with Julian until she grew sleepy.
The band played our favorite song.
For several hours, I almost convinced myself the evening could still end peacefully.
Then my phone vibrated.
An unfamiliar number.
A message appeared.
Marcus knows the approval is false. He ordered the original removed from the audit file five years ago.
My hands went cold.
A second message followed.
Check the payments to Hart Advisory Group.
I stared at the name.
Hart Advisory Group.
I'd seen it before.
On the encrypted drive I'd preserved during the final weeks of my first marriage.
The same drive Marcus had never known existed.
And I suddenly remembered something else.
The consulting firm had received millions of dollars in payments without supplying records sufficient to justify them.
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But the person who originally introduced Hart Advisory Group to Mercer Financial Systems wasn't Marcus.
It was Chloe Vance.
