Chapter 18 - The Third Signature
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The document was an early corporate equity option agreement for Mercer Logistics.
At the bottom of the final page were three signature lines.
The first signature belonged to me—Claire Bennett, as I was known back then.
The second signature belonged to Evan Mercer, establishing his role as CEO.
But it was the third signature—the one on the line reserved for 'Silent Founding Partner'—that made the glass of wine in my hand tremble.
The third signature didn't belong to Richard Mercer. It didn't belong to Diane.
It belonged to my grandfather’s former business partner—a man named Marcus Sterling.
Marcus Sterling had vanished fifteen years ago after a massive international hedge fund collapse, legally declared dead in absentia by a federal court six years later.
I stared at the crisp black ink of his signature.
The date beside his signature was dated six months after he had officially been declared dead.
My mind spun in a dizzying whirlwind of questions.
Had my grandfather's inheritance money been clean? Or had Mercer Logistics been created from the very beginning as a pre-planned vehicle for something far larger and darker than Evan's petty greed?
Was Evan’s sudden obsession with taking my shares really just his parents' desperate greed... or had they been taking orders from someone else standing in the shadows behind them?
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My phone on the marble counter suddenly began to vibrate.
An incoming call from an unlisted, international private number.
