Chapter 19 - The Attorney Who Remembered
Martin Hale, the retired attorney who formed the company, entered court with a cane and a box of handwritten ledgers.
He remembered everything.
“Mrs. Bellamy supplied the capital,” he testified. “She insisted Mr. Rourke retain substantial ownership because she believed in him.”
Gavin stared at the table.
Hale explained that he kept a duplicate filing packet after a flood damaged part of his office. The packet included a receipt showing Gavin had personally collected the certified original.
“Did Mr. Rourke ever ask you to remove Mrs. Bellamy?” Judge Beckett asked.
“Yes. Six years later. I refused and warned him that doing so without her consent would be fraud.”
Hale produced the letter he had sent afterward.
Gavin’s response was handwritten at the bottom: Cassandra will sign when the time is right.
May you like
I never had.
👉 Gavin had been planning my removal for six years, but the court was about to learn why he chose the week of our anniversary to begin.
