Chapter 6 - THE SIGNATURE THAT COULDN'T BE FORGED
Amelia stared at the document.
“That isn't my signature.”
Theodore nodded.
“I know.”
The bank manager looked confused.
“But the biometric authorization matched.”
“What?”
He explained that the Hale Trust required more than a signature.
It required a personal verification phrase established by the original heir.
Amelia had never known the phrase.
Yet the system had accepted it.
Someone knew something about her childhood.
Something no stranger should know.
Then Amelia remembered.
A phrase her adoptive mother used every night.
“Bluebird.”
She whispered it.
The bank manager's face changed.
“That is the verification phrase.”
Amelia felt sick.
“My mother knew.”
Theodore frowned.
“Your adoptive mother?”
“Yes.”
“She must have been part of the original arrangement.”
Amelia remembered old letters.
Her mother had always told her never to ask why she was adopted.
Never to search for her biological family.
Never to visit Richmond.
She had thought it was grief.
Now she understood.
It was fear.
Theodore looked at her.
“Your mother protected you.”
“From Samuel?”
“Probably.”
The bank manager interrupted.
“There's another problem.”
“What?”
“The transfer has already begun.”
Graham looked at Amelia.
“We have thirty minutes.”
They rushed to the vault.
Inside was a second security system.
The sapphire was required to open the final compartment.
But Celeste had it.
Then the door opened.
Celeste stood there.
Her face was pale.
The sapphire was in her hand.
“You want this?”
Amelia stared.
“Yes.”
Celeste laughed bitterly.
“You think I'm the villain.”
“You've been sleeping with my husband.”
“I know.”
“You wore his grandmother's ring.”
“I know.”
“You tried to take my inheritance.”
Celeste's eyes filled with tears.
“I thought it was mine.”
“Why?”
“Because my grandmother told me it was.”
“Where is she?”
Celeste looked toward the hallway.
“She's coming.”
Margaret appeared.
Federal agents were behind her.
She raised her hands.
“I came to surrender.”
Amelia stared.
“You?”
Margaret looked at Celeste.
“You don't understand what Samuel has done.”
Theodore stepped forward.
“Where is he?”
Margaret's face hardened.
“Inside this bank.”
Everyone froze.
“He wants the trust.”
“How?”
“He needs Amelia.”
“Why?”
Margaret looked at Amelia.
“Because she is the only living person whose blood can unlock the original Hale vault.”
Amelia's stomach tightened.
“And the sapphire?”
Margaret pointed at it.
“It contains a blood sample.”
Graham stared.
“A blood sample?”
Margaret nodded.
“From the night Amelia was born.”
Amelia's world seemed to stop.
The ring wasn't carrying a photograph.
It carried biological proof.
Proof of her identity.
Proof that she was Margaret's daughter.
And proof that Samuel had spent decades trying to erase her.
Then the bank lights went out.
A man's voice echoed through the vault.
May you like
“Give me the heir.”
Samuel had arrived.
