Chapter 11 - The Signature That Wasn't There
The email stayed open between my thumb and forefinger as if holding the phone carefully could change what it said.
“Vanessa's signature is still required,” I told Adrian. “Your people walked her out of this hotel, and her authority over Leo hasn't changed at all.”
He read the notification twice. The terrible calm returned to his face. “I'll have counsel petition to replace her.”
“You've been saying that kind of thing for years. Have someone petition. Have someone acquire. Have someone solve it before dinner.” I took the phone back. “Leo is not another problem you can make disappear.”
Adrian looked toward the closed doors. “What do you want me to do?”
“First, tell me whether she's actually under arrest.”
He called Marco on speaker. Three rings. “She left with investigators voluntarily,” Marco admitted. “They asked her to preserve her devices. Nobody has confirmed an arrest.”
“So you let me believe she was in custody,” I said.
Marco's pause was longer than any answer. Adrian shut his eyes.
I dialed Miriam Cole, my divorce attorney, while both men listened. She answered on the second ring.
“Claire?”
“Someone just told a room full of people I'm married again,” I said. “I didn't sign anything to make that happen.”
May you like
Miriam went quiet. “Tell me exactly what document you saw.”
I watched Adrian's hand tighten around the blue-backed page. For the first time since his threat at the bistro, he looked less like a man who owned the answer than a man afraid of the question.
