Chapter 3 - The Signature
Hannah stared at Brandon’s name until the letters blurred.
“No.”
Daniel did not speak.
“He wouldn’t.”
Her own voice sounded uncertain.
Daniel hated that sound.
It was what happened when betrayal collided with memory.
The mind searched desperately for another explanation because the truth was too ugly to accept all at once.
Hannah grabbed the phone from Daniel’s hand.
She enlarged the document.
“No.”
Her finger trembled over the signature.
“That’s not mine.”
“I believe you.”
“Brandon knows my signature.”
Daniel nodded.
“He signed our tax forms for years. He filled out school papers. He—”
She stopped.
Ethan stirred on the couch.
Both adults fell silent.
The boy rolled onto his other side without waking.
Hannah lowered her voice.
“Why would he do this?”
Daniel had several theories.
None he wanted to give her without evidence.
“Did he know you were behind on rent?”
“Yes.”
“Did he ever offer to help?”
She laughed without humor.
“He said I should learn what happens when I make bad choices.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“His child lived there.”
“He kept saying Ethan could stay with him.”
“Did you refuse?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
Hannah stared at him.
“Because Kelsey doesn’t want Ethan around.”
“His girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would Brandon want custody?”
“I didn’t say he wanted custody.”
“What did he want?”
Hannah looked toward the window.
Snow had begun to fall lightly over the city.
“He wanted me scared.”
Daniel understood.
“He wanted you dependent.”
Her eyes closed.
“Yes.”
She sat again.
“Brandon always needed to be needed. When we first married, I thought it was sweet. He wanted to pay every bill. Wanted me to call if the car made a strange noise. Wanted to know what time I got to work.”
Her voice turned bitter.
“I called it caring.”
“And later?”
“Later he started checking receipts.”
Daniel remained quiet.
“If I bought Ethan new shoes, Brandon asked why they cost thirty dollars instead of twenty. If I went out with a friend, he wanted photographs. If I was ten minutes late, there were five messages.”
“Did he control the accounts?”
“All of them.”
“After you separated?”
“I opened my own checking account.”
“And he hated that.”
“Yes.”
Daniel sat across from her.
“Hannah, I need to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“Did Brandon have access to your apartment?”
“He had a key for Ethan.”
“Could he have met Carver there?”
Her eyes shifted.
“Maybe.”
Daniel called Melissa again.
“I need security footage from Hannah’s building.”
“Already requested.”
“Today’s hallway and lobby video first.”
“Got it.”
“And find out whether Carver has any connection to Brandon.”
“I’m on it.”
Daniel ended the call.
Hannah looked exhausted.
“You do this a lot.”
“What?”
“Give orders and people just do things.”
“Occupational hazard.”
She almost smiled.
Then it disappeared.
“I don’t want Ethan waking up to this.”
“He doesn’t have to.”
“I need to figure out tomorrow.”
“You have time.”
“No, I don’t.”
She stood and began gathering the few belongings that had already been taken from their bags.
Daniel frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting organized.”
“For what?”
“Tomorrow.”
“It’s almost eleven.”
“Exactly.”
“You need sleep.”
“So do you.”
“I’m not the one who got thrown out of my home.”
She stopped.
Daniel immediately regretted the wording.
Hannah’s shoulders stiffened.
He corrected himself.
“Had your home taken from you.”
Her expression softened slightly.
Daniel stood.
“You and Ethan can stay here tomorrow night too.”
“No.”
“You just learned your apartment was taken illegally.”
“That doesn’t mean I become your responsibility.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“You’re acting like it.”
Daniel absorbed that.
Then nodded.
“Fair.”
She looked surprised.
“I have a bad habit of trying to solve things.”
“Because you have money.”
“Because money can solve some things.”
“Not all.”
“No.”
For a second, Caroline was in the room.
Machines humming.
Her hand cold in his.
His money unable to change one result.
Hannah saw something pass across his face.
“I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t do anything.”
“You thought about your wife.”
Daniel looked at her.
“How did you know?”
“Your face.”
Before he could answer, Ethan sat up.
“Mom?”
Hannah crossed to him.
“I’m here.”
“What time is it?”
“Almost eleven.”
His sleepy eyes widened.
“Fireworks!”
“You still have a while.”
Ethan rubbed his face.
Then noticed Daniel.
“You came back.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“I did.”
“Did Dad leave?”
Hannah looked at Daniel.
Neither had realized Ethan heard enough earlier to understand.
“Yes,” Hannah said. “He left.”
“Was he mad?”
“Your dad gets mad sometimes.”
“At me?”
The question devastated the room.
Hannah knelt.
“No. Never because of you.”
Ethan looked unconvinced.
“He didn’t call Christmas.”
Hannah swallowed.
“He should have.”
“Maybe I was bad.”
“No.”
She took his face in both hands.
“You listen to me. Adults make mistakes because of adults. You never have to earn somebody calling you on Christmas.”
Daniel looked away.
He remembered being six years old after his own father walked out.
Different story.
Same wound.
Ethan’s eyes filled.
Hannah hugged him.
Daniel quietly moved toward the door.
Ethan noticed.
“Mr. Millionaire?”
Daniel stopped.
“Are you leaving before fireworks?”
The question was simple.
The answer should have been too.
“Yes.”
Instead Daniel looked at the city.
At midnight, he usually stood alone in his penthouse with every light turned off.
He would pour Caroline’s favorite champagne, leave it untouched, and watch strangers celebrate another year he had survived without her.
Daniel turned back.
“Do you want me to stay?”
Ethan nodded.
Hannah opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Daniel waited for her objection.
None came.
“All right,” he said.
Room service arrived at eleven-fifteen.
Cheeseburgers.
French fries.
Chicken soup.
A grilled cheese sandwich Ethan declared “the fanciest grilled cheese in America.”
Daniel removed his tie.
Hannah finally ate.
At eleven-forty, Ethan discovered a bowl of wrapped chocolates in the bedroom.
At eleven-fifty, the three of them stood at the windows.
Below, Chicago glowed.
Boats gathered on the lake.
Traffic slowed.
People crowded rooftops.
Television hosts began counting down.
Ethan pressed his face to the glass.
“Ten!”
Hannah laughed.
“Nine!”
Daniel found himself counting too.
“Eight!”
“Seven!”
“Six!”
For one ridiculous second, he forgot what night meant.
“Five!”
He forgot the hospital.
“Four!”
Forgot Caroline’s final New Year.
“Three!”
Forgot he had spent three years refusing invitations because happiness felt like betrayal.
“Two!”
Hannah took Ethan’s hand.
“One!”
The city erupted.
Fireworks exploded over Lake Michigan.
Gold.
Red.
Blue.
White.
Ethan screamed with delight.
“Happy New Year!”
Hannah hugged him.
“Happy New Year, baby.”
Then Ethan turned and threw both arms around Daniel’s waist.
Daniel froze.
Completely.
The boy did not notice.
“Happy New Year, Mr. Millionaire!”
Daniel stared down at the blue knit hat pressed against his shirt.
Slowly, he placed one hand on Ethan’s back.
“Happy New Year, Ethan.”
Hannah watched.
There was something in Daniel’s expression she could not name.
Pain.
Wonder.
Fear.
Maybe all three.
Ethan released him.
“You gotta hug Mom too.”
Hannah nearly choked.
“Ethan!”
“What?”
Daniel stepped back quickly.
“Your mom gets to decide who hugs her.”
Ethan considered this important new information.
“Oh.”
Then he asked Hannah, “Can he?”
Her cheeks warmed.
“That’s enough matchmaking for one night.”
“What’s matchmaking?”
“Bed.”
“That’s not what it means.”
“Bed, Ethan.”
He groaned.
Daniel laughed.
The sound followed Hannah as she guided Ethan toward the bedroom.
Five minutes later, Daniel’s phone buzzed.
Melissa.
He answered quietly.
“Tell me.”
“We have footage from the building.”
Daniel glanced toward the bedroom.
Hannah was helping Ethan brush his teeth.
“What does it show?”
“Brandon entered at 9:42 this morning.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“With Carver?”
“No. Carver came fifteen minutes later.”
“Then?”
“They went into the management office together.”
“How long?”
“Thirty-eight minutes.”
“After that?”
“They went to Hannah’s apartment.”
Daniel’s hand tightened around the phone.
“Was Hannah there?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Melissa hesitated.
“Brandon carried out two boxes.”
Daniel looked toward the grocery bag containing Hannah’s remaining possessions.
“What boxes?”
“We can’t tell.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
“At 11:07, Carver called a locksmith.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Do we have audio?”
“Not inside.”
“And the move-out form?”
“Uploaded at 10:36.”
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“While Brandon was in the office.”
“Yes.”
Hannah emerged from the bedroom.
One glance at Daniel told her everything.
“What?”
Daniel lowered the phone.
“Brandon was at your building this morning.”
She gripped the doorway.
“With Carver.”
Her face collapsed.
Daniel continued reluctantly.
“The paperwork was uploaded while Brandon was inside Carver’s office.”
Hannah slowly sat down.
“What boxes?”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“You said he carried boxes.”
Melissa had not been on speaker.
Daniel realized Hannah had read his expression again.
“Two.”
Hannah stood immediately.
“My documents.”
“What?”
She rushed toward the red suitcase.
Opened it.
Dug through clothing.
“No.”
“Hannah?”
“No, no, no.”
She emptied the suitcase.
Sweaters.
Ethan’s pajamas.
A stuffed dinosaur.
Nothing else.
“What’s missing?”
“My file box.”
“What was in it?”
“Birth certificates. Tax returns. Our old mortgage paperwork. Ethan’s medical records.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“And?”
Hannah looked up.
“My evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
“Brandon’s money.”
Silence.
Daniel stepped closer.
“What money?”
Hannah’s breathing became shallow.
“Six months ago, before we separated, I found statements from an account I’d never seen before.”
“How much?”
“Almost eighty thousand dollars.”
Daniel frowned.
“From his salary?”
“He makes seventy-two thousand a year.”
“Then where did eighty thousand come from?”
“I didn’t know.”
“You copied the statements.”
“Yes.”
“Those were in the box.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked toward his phone.
A new message from Melissa appeared.
Found link between Miller and Carver. Calling now.
The phone rang immediately.
Daniel answered.
“What did you find?”
Melissa spoke quickly.
“NorthLake Security has an internal investigation open.”
“For Brandon?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Equipment theft and contractor kickbacks.”
Hannah covered her mouth.
Daniel stared at her.
“How much?”
“Investigators estimate at least one hundred and thirty thousand.”
“Does Carver appear?”
“That’s the problem.”
“What problem?”
“Carver is one of the contractors.”
Daniel felt the pieces snap together.
Brandon had been receiving money.
Hannah discovered accounts.
She lost her job under suspicious circumstances.
Her apartment manager falsified her move-out.
Her evidence disappeared.
And Brandon arrived at the hotel before midnight.
Daniel asked one final question.
“When was the NorthLake investigation opened?”
Melissa answered.
“Yesterday.”
Hannah whispered, “Oh my God.”
Daniel looked at her.
Brandon had not thrown Hannah onto the street because he wanted her dependent.
He had done it because he was afraid she possessed something that could destroy him.
And now he knew she had lost the evidence.
Hannah looked toward the bedroom where Ethan slept.
“What if he comes back?”
Daniel’s phone vibrated.
Security alert.
A photograph loaded.
Brandon’s car.
May you like
Across the street.
He had never left.
