Chapter 10 - THE SIGNATURE LUCA DIDN'T REMEMBER GIVING
The power of attorney was real in one sense.
Luca’s signature was genuine.
That made it dangerous.
But validity required capacity.
And Luca had been heavily sedated.
Medical records mattered.
Claire had them.
Not originals.
Copies.
Medication logs showed Luca received high-dose sedatives the morning he signed.
The attending physician noted confusion.
Orientation impaired.
Celia signed as witness anyway.
“Why?” Adrian asked.
She looked ashamed.
“Vincent told me it was only for medical billing authority.”
“You didn’t read it?”
“No.”
Luca laughed bitterly.
“Apparently nobody in this family reads anything.”
Not funny.
Still true.
Independent counsel moved immediately to challenge the document.
Board notified.
Banks notified under privilege.
No public release yet.
Then David Hartman acted first.
A business-news outlet published:
DELUCA HEIR PRESUMED DEAD MAY BE ALIVE; SECRET CONTROL AGREEMENT SURFACES.
Markets reacted.
DeLuca Logistics bonds dropped.
Calls flooded Adrian’s office.
Board members panicked.
Exactly as Samuel predicted.
Adrian did not deny Luca lived.
That would repeat the original sin.
Instead, he released a short statement:
Luca DeLuca is alive. His prior presumed death was based on family decisions made during a period of credible threats. Independent counsel is reviewing all related corporate and estate issues. No current evidence indicates Adrian DeLuca knowingly benefited from concealment.
Truth.
Limited.
No theatrical spin.
Luca agreed.
Then David released the power of attorney.
Now headlines worsened.
HARTMAN CLAIMS AUTHORITY OVER RETURNING DELUCA HEIR.
Adrian almost admired the audacity.
Almost.
Then Claire found the missing medical page.
Consent evaluation.
Luca marked legally incapacitated for complex financial decisions for seventy-two hours surrounding the signature.
That could destroy Hartman’s claim.
But one problem.
The page carried a physician’s signature.
Dr. Leonard Price.
Dead.
And the hospital’s original record had been altered.
The incapacity notation disappeared from the official archive.
Someone removed it.
Who?
Access log:
Claire Mercer.
Everyone stared at her.
Claire went pale.
“I didn’t do that.”
Adrian said nothing.
She looked at him.
“You believe me?”
“I believe evidence.”
That answer hurt her slightly.
Good.
Trust without verification was how they got here.
Claire explained.
Her login had been used after she left St. Agnes.
Possible copied credentials.
Then Marco’s digital team found location data.
The access came from a terminal inside the administrative office.
Date:
Three days after Claire resigned.
User badge:
Claire.
Security camera:
Unavailable.
Then Celia whispered:
“I used her badge.”
Everyone turned.
She had removed the incapacity note.
Not to help Hartman.
To keep Vincent from realizing the power of attorney was invalid.
She thought if Vincent believed the document worked, he would stop pressuring Luca for another signature.
A defensive deception.
Again.
One lie creating another decade of damage.
Then Luca asked:
“Where is the original evaluation?”
Celia looked at him.
“I gave it to Antonio.”
Antonio.
Dead.
But Adrian knew where Antonio kept originals.
The family ring archive.
The old vault.
Key 317.
The brass key Claire had sent through Sophie.
May you like
Adrian pulled it from his pocket.
They finally knew what it opened.
