Chapter 7 - The Notary
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I gripped the back of the heavy leather chair to keep my knees from buckling.
"That’s impossible," I breathed. "I check my main accounts. I would notice two million dollars missing."
"It wasn't a smash and grab, Claire. It was highly sophisticated," Vivian explained, tracing a pen over a flowchart she had drawn. "They took out a credit line against the penthouse. They liquidated two of your older, passive investment accounts that you rarely check. They even redirected a corporate reimbursement account into a shadow bank account Ryan controlled."
"How could he possibly access my investment accounts without my physical presence?" I demanded. "The bank requires two-factor authentication and a power of attorney for that level of movement."
"He had power of attorney."
I stared at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. "I never gave him power of attorney."
Vivian reached into the cardboard box and pulled out a thick legal document. She slid it across the mahogany table. I looked at the signature line. It was my signature. Perfect. Flawless.
Then, my eyes drifted down to the bottom right corner of the page.
The notary stamp.
Diane Bennett.
"Ryan's mother is a notary?" I asked, feeling the blood drain from my face.
"Apparently, she renewed her license two years ago. Right around the time you married Ryan."
A memory suddenly pierced through the fog of my panic. A quiet Sunday dinner at the penthouse. I had been frantically typing an email to my CEO on my phone. Ryan had slid a manila folder across the kitchen island. Just some company benefits stuff, babe. Needs your John Hancock. Diane had been standing right there, tapping her manicured finger on the dotted lines. Initial here, sweetie. Sign there.
I hadn't read a single word. I had trusted them.
"Did I actually sign this specific document?" I asked, feeling sick to my stomach.
"No," Vivian said, shaking her head. "My forensic guy looked at the digital metadata. The signature page was from a legitimate document, but they swapped the primary contract. They attached your signature to a fraudulent power of attorney, and Diane notarized it to make it legally binding."
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"They've been planning this," I whispered, the horror washing over me. "While we were picking out baby names. While I was cooking them dinner. They were robbing me."
Vivian closed the laptop. "I've frozen everything. But Claire, there's something worse. I had to contact your company's CFO."
