Chapter 9 - The Signature on the Withdrawal Forms
The trust documents contained Catherine’s signature on six withdrawal approvals.
Catherine denied signing any of them.
Victor sent digital copies to a forensic document examiner.
The result arrived the following morning.
The signatures were traced from a school employment form.
Each contained identical pressure patterns and microscopic marks.
Someone had copied the same signature repeatedly.
The approvals were notarized by Leonard Price.
Victor confronted him in his downtown office.
Brian accompanied him with the evidence envelope.
Annie remained safely with Elena Dalton.
Leonard looked exhausted.
“I never expected Maris to go this far.”
Victor placed the forms on his desk.
“You notarized forged signatures.”
“Your mother told me Catherine had authorized them electronically.”
“You certified that you watched her sign.”
Leonard’s shoulders collapsed.
“She said it was temporary.”
“Where did the money go?”
“Different companies.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know the total.”
Victor leaned across the desk.
“You helped my mother remove my wife and child, redirect my money, and borrow against my daughter’s identity.”
Leonard looked away.
“She had information that could destroy my firm.”
“What information?”
“I had mishandled estate taxes years ago. Your mother covered the penalties. After that, I belonged to her.”
Victor felt no sympathy.
Leonard opened a locked drawer.
Inside were copies of emails, ledgers, and a flash drive.
“I kept these in case she blamed me.”
Everyone around Maris seemed to preserve evidence for self-protection.
No one had protected Annie.
Leonard admitted he created the false divorce letter using lines copied from Catherine’s real message.
He fabricated the out-of-state filings.
He instructed Victor’s investigators to search in the wrong locations.
He also helped Maris create a company that received the monthly support payments.
“Where is Catherine now?” Victor asked.
Leonard shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Brian did.
But Catherine had asked him not to disclose her location until she felt safe.
Victor struggled with that.
He wanted to go to her immediately.
He also understood she had spent three years learning that his family ignored her choices.
So he did not force the answer.
Instead, he sent a message through Brian.
Tell Catherine I know the letter was false. Tell her Annie is safe. Tell her I will wait until she is ready.
Hours later, Brian received a reply.
Catherine wants proof that Maris can no longer reach them.
Victor looked at the evidence stacked before him.
May you like
He knew exactly where to begin.
👉 Victor could not repair three stolen years in a day—but he could dismantle every system Maris had used to control them.
