Chapter 8: The Power of Attorney That Never Existed
Emmett did not sleep that night.
Neither did I.
He stayed at my apartment, sitting in the chair beside the radiator while the heater clicked and hummed. Every so often, he checked his phone to see whether Arthur had sent another message.
At 2:16 a.m., I found him staring at the power of attorney.
“Come to bed,” I said gently.
He shook his head.
“I can't.””
“You have to rest.””
“Mom, my name is on a document that could have given someone access to Dad's money. If the signature is convincing enough, what if they used it to do more than move the trust funds?””
I sat opposite him.
“Then we find out what happened.””
He looked at me.
“What if Dad thought I agreed to it?””
“You didn't.””
“What if he died believing I'd helped move the money?””
I reached across the table and covered his hand.
“Your father knew you. He knew what kind of man you were.””
Emmett's eyes filled, but he blinked the tears away.
“I should have questioned Thea when she started handling the estate. I should have checked the accounts. I should have visited you more often.””
“You cannot punish yourself for trusting your wife.””
“But you trusted her because I did.””
That hurt because it was true.
I had accepted Thea's explanations partly because Emmett believed in her. I had assumed that the woman he intended to marry would never knowingly harm his mother.
Now I understood how easily trust could become a door through which someone entered without being questioned.
At seven the next morning, Richard called.
He had spoken with the authorities and advised Emmett not to meet Arthur alone. After some discussion, they arranged for Richard to accompany him to a public office building where Arthur had agreed to meet.
Mara insisted on joining them.
“If Arthur was involved in the Halcyon investigation, I need to hear what he says,” she explained.
“But I won't question him without Richard present.””
I wanted to go, too.
Emmett refused.
“Not this time, Mom. If Arthur has been manipulating the records for years, I won't put you in a room with him until we know what we're dealing with.””
At 9:30 a.m., they left.
I waited in my apartment, watching the minutes pass on the clock above the kitchen sink.
At 10:07, Emmett sent a message.
We've found him.
At 10:21, another arrived.
He says he can prove who forged the documents.
Then nothing.
I called Emmett twice.
No answer.
At 10:46, Richard finally called.
“We're finished,” he said.
“What happened?””
“Arthur has admitted that the power of attorney was never properly executed.””
I closed my eyes in relief.
“Then Emmett's name was forged?””
“Yes. But Arthur claims he didn't create the document.””
“Who did?””
Richard paused.
“That's the part we need to verify.””
When Emmett returned to the apartment shortly after noon, he looked exhausted.
He set a thick envelope on the table and sat down.
“What did Arthur say?”” I asked.
He rubbed his face.
“He said Dad discovered irregularities in his investment account about two months before he died. Some money had been moved without his knowledge.””
“How much?””
“Arthur estimates nearly two hundred thousand dollars.””
I stared at him.
“Why didn't Daniel tell me?””
“According to Arthur, Dad was trying to identify who had access to the account before he raised the alarm. He didn't want you worrying until he knew whether the transfers could be reversed.””
That sounded like my husband.
Daniel had always tried to solve problems before bringing them home. He believed worrying without information was a form of unnecessary suffering.
“What did Arthur do?””
“He said Dad asked him to help trace the money. But when they discovered that some transfers had been routed through Hartwell Advisory Services, the investigation became complicated.””
“The company Thea worked for?””
Emmett nodded.
“Arthur claims he suspected Thea had access to the original account records because she had worked at Halcyon. But he says she told him the transfers were authorized.””
I shook my head.
“Why would he believe her?””
“He says he didn't. That's why he prepared the power of attorney—to give himself and me authority to freeze the account.””
“But you never signed it.””
“No.””
Emmett opened the envelope and removed a copy of the document.
“Arthur claims he sent it to a law office for execution. He says he received it back with both signatures already on it.””
“Did he question them?””
“He claims he did. He says Thea told him she'd obtained my signature during a family meeting.””
I stared at the page.
“There was no family meeting.””
“I know.””
Emmett pulled out another document.
“This is the most important thing Arthur gave us.””
It was an internal memorandum dated two days before Daniel's death.
The note described a planned transfer of the remaining investment assets into a temporary holding account while the disputed transactions were investigated.
The instructions stated that the funds were to remain frozen until the beneficiary's identity and authorization could be verified.
Beneath that paragraph was a handwritten amendment.
*Release upon confirmation from E.H.*
My initials.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“E.H.,” I whispered.
“Evelyn Hart?””
Emmett nodded.
“Arthur says those initials referred to you, not me.””
“But I never confirmed anything.””
“That's what he says.””
He tapped the next line.
“The release was approved the day after Dad died.””
I looked at him.
“By whom?””
Emmett turned the page.
The signature was mine.
Or someone had made it look like mine.
But there was another detail.
The release had been witnessed by a notary whose stamp belonged to a small law firm in a town I had never visited.
Richard had already contacted the firm.
According to its records, the notary had left the practice several years earlier.
The stamp had been reported missing.
Someone had used it to authenticate a signature I never made.
I felt suddenly cold despite the warmth coming from the radiator.
“How much money was released?””
Emmett checked the statement.
“Three hundred and eighty-six thousand dollars.””
I sat down heavily.
Daniel's retirement account.
The savings that were supposed to keep me safe.
Gone.
“Where did it go?””
“Arthur says the first transfer went to Hartwell Family Asset Management. From there, the money was divided among several accounts.””
“Can he prove it?””
“He has the original ledger. Richard is arranging for the authorities to obtain the full banking records.””
Emmett's phone buzzed.
A message from Thea.
I know you met Arthur. He is lying to you.
Emmett showed it to me.
Then another message appeared.
He was the one who moved the money. I was trying to recover it.
He typed a reply.
Then explain why you used my mother's signature.
Her answer came quickly.
I never forged her signature.
Emmett looked at the documents spread across the table.
“That's the one thing she keeps repeating.””
“Perhaps she believes it.””
“Or perhaps she knows exactly what she signed.””
He called her.
She answered immediately.
“Emmett, please listen to me.””
“Did you submit the power of attorney?””
“I delivered it to Arthur.””
“Did you see me sign it?””
“No.””
“Did you tell Arthur that I had?””
Thea went quiet.
“Answer me.””
“I told him I believed you would have agreed.””
“You told him I signed a legal document when I hadn't even seen it?””
“I thought it was a temporary authorization.””
“You don't get to invent my consent because you think I'd agree.””
Her voice rose.
“I was trying to protect your mother!””
“By taking her money?””
“I didn't take it for myself.””
“Then where is it?””
Thea began to cry.
“I was trying to recover the money that had already disappeared. Arthur told me the account was compromised. He said we needed to move the remaining funds before the bank froze everything.””
“And the care facility?””
“I didn't create that invoice.””
“But your company received the payments.””
“I was trying to cover expenses while the trust was being sorted out.””
“What expenses?””
“The legal fees. The account administration. The recovery work.””
Emmett laughed without humor.
“Your company billed my mother's trust for services that never happened.””
“I didn't approve those invoices.””
“Then who did?””
She hesitated.
“Arthur had access to the accounts.””
Emmett turned toward me.
There it was again.
Arthur was responsible.
Thea was trying to recover the money.
Mara's signature had been forged by someone else.
Everyone had an explanation. Nobody had an answer that matched all the evidence.
Emmett lowered his voice.
“Why did you tell me not to trust Mara?””
“Because she was involved in the original investigation.””
“She was blamed for an audit failure. She wasn't accused of stealing money.””
“You don't know everything that happened at Halcyon.””
“Then tell me.””
Thea's breathing grew uneven.
“I can't.””
“Why?””
“Because the person who really controlled the account is still out there.””
Emmett went still.
“What person?””
“The person who approved the transfers. The person who knew when your father was going to move the money. The person who made sure the trust records looked legitimate.””
“Arthur?””
“No.””
Her answer came too quickly.
“Then who?””
Thea whispered something that Emmett couldn't hear.
He put the phone closer to his ear.
“Say that again.””
“I said it was someone inside the family.””
My heart began to pound.
“Who?”” Emmett demanded.
Thea broke down completely.
“I didn't know who it was at first. I swear. I thought I was helping Arthur.
Then the invoices started appearing, and the account balances stopped making sense. By the time I realized what was happening, the money was already gone.””
“Who inside the family?””
She was crying too hard to speak.
Emmett waited.
Finally, she whispered, “Your father left a second set of instructions. Arthur said they were hidden in the estate file. He told me that if I found them, everything would make sense.””
“Where are they?””
“I don't know.””
“Then why mention them?””
“Because I found a reference to them in an old email.””
Emmett gripped the phone.
“What did it say?””
Thea took a shaky breath.
“It said that Daniel had named a final beneficiary—someone who would inherit the account if anything happened to you or your mother.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“What beneficiary?”” I whispered.
Emmett repeated the question.
“Who did my father name?””
Thea was silent.
Then she said, “I don't know. But I found the original beneficiary code.””
Emmett stood.
“Where?””
“In a document Arthur sent me before the wedding.””
“Send it to me.””
“I can't. I deleted the email.””
“Then recover it.””
“I've tried.””
“Try again.””
She lowered her voice.
“Emmett, there's something else you need to know. The beneficiary code wasn't created after your father's death.””
“Then when?””
“Before you met me.””
The call ended.
Emmett stood motionless, staring at the phone.
Mara had been listening from the kitchen doorway. She stepped forward slowly.
“If the beneficiary designation predates your marriage, we may be able to trace it through the original estate records.””
Richard called moments later with an update: Arthur had agreed to provide a formal statement and surrender the documents he retained, but he denied knowing who had forged the signatures.
For the first time, there was a clear path toward finding the money.
Yet Emmett seemed less relieved than ever.
He sat down and opened the photograph from the hospital corridor again.
Arthur standing outside the ICU.
The brown envelope.
The time stamp.
Then he enlarged the image until the background became a blur.
Something on the man's wrist caught his attention.
A watch.
A distinctive silver watch with a dark blue face.
Emmett stared at it for several seconds.
Then he pulled up an old family photograph from his phone.
It showed Daniel standing beside the Christmas tree, one arm around me and the other around a younger Emmett.
On Daniel's wrist was the same watch.
Emmett looked back at the hospital photograph.
“That was Dad's watch,” he whispered.
I leaned closer.
He was right.
The watch had disappeared from Daniel's belongings after his death. We'd searched the hospital bag, the house, and the estate inventory.
No one had ever found it.
Emmett enlarged the image further.
Arthur was wearing it.
“Why would Arthur have Dad's watch?”” he asked.
Neither Mara nor Richard could answer.
Then Emmett noticed something else.
The hospital photograph had been taken from the end of the corridor, facing the ICU entrance.
But Arthur wasn't looking at the room.
He was looking directly at the camera.
As if he had known someone was watching.
Emmett turned the phone toward me.
“Mom, whoever took this photograph didn't send it to us to explain what happened.””
He looked at Mara.
“They sent it because they wanted us to know Arthur was there.””
Mara nodded slowly.
“And whoever took it may know why.””
Emmett's phone buzzed again.
This time, the message came from the same unknown number that had sent the photograph.
Arthur is telling you only half the story.
A second message followed.
Ask him what Daniel said before he lost consciousness.
Then a third.
*Ask him who was holding the watch when the hospital room went dark.*
Emmett stared at the screen.
I reached for his hand.
“Sweetheart, what does it mean?””
He looked at me, and I saw the fear return.
“Someone was in Dad's room that night,” he said.
“Someone we never knew about.””
Then his phone rang.
Arthur Vale.
Emmett answered.
Arthur's voice sounded strained.
“Mr. Hart, I need you to listen carefully. The person who sent you those messages is not trying to help you.””
“Who is it?””
“I can't tell you over the phone.””
“Why not?””
“Because the person has access to the original estate file.””
Emmett stood.
“Who has access?””
Arthur took a breath.
“Someone who should never have been allowed near your father's money.””
“Tell me the name.””
Arthur's voice dropped to a whisper.
May you like
“It's the person Daniel named as his final beneficiary.””
Then the line went dead.
