Chapter 13 - THE SECOND DOCUMENT
The photograph had been taken that morning.
Evelyn recognized the marina.
“Blackwater Harbor.”
Tom knew it too.
Seventy miles south.
The Carter family once kept a sailboat there.
Police searched the docks.
Helen and Robert were gone.
But surveillance footage showed them boarding a forty-two-foot motor yacht belonging to one of Victor Dane’s companies.
The yacht left two hours earlier.
Coast Guard units began searching.
Then another message arrived.
This one included a scanned document.
Rebecca read it first.
Her face darkened.
“What?”
Tom demanded.
“They want Evelyn to sign a settlement.”
“Settlement?”
“In exchange for Helen surrendering control and returning certain assets, Evelyn agrees not to cooperate with criminal prosecution.”
Tom laughed bitterly.
“They think she can stop the police?”
“No.”
Rebecca continued reading.
“But there’s another clause.”
The document transferred twelve thousand acres of Carter land to a private holding company.
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed.
“That land.”
Tom looked at her.
“What about it?”
“Lithium.”
Everyone became quiet.
Two years earlier, geological surveys had identified a potentially significant lithium deposit beneath a portion of Carter property.
The information had never been publicly released.
Evelyn feared uncontrolled mining would destroy local water systems.
Only a small number of executives knew.
Robert Chen was one of them.
Victor Dane knew because Robert had told him.
The seventy-four-million-dollar land deal had never been about ordinary development.
If the lithium rights were confirmed, the land could be worth hundreds of millions.
Maybe more.
Tom finally understood why Evelyn’s captivity had been worth such enormous risk.
Helen was not stealing an inheritance.
She was trying to capture an asset that could make her richer than Evelyn had ever been.
Rebecca examined the settlement document.
“They need your signature because the original mineral rights remain personally controlled by you.”
Evelyn smiled faintly.
“They made a mistake.”
“What?”
“They think I care about the money.”
Another message appeared.
SIGN BY MIDNIGHT.
Tom looked at his mother.
“You’re not signing.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“I might.”
“Mom.”
“To control the situation.”
Rebecca understood.
“We could arrange a monitored exchange.”
Pierce agreed.
“We give them what they think they want.”
Tom hated the idea.
Lily had been listening quietly.
Then she raised her hand.
Four adults looked at her.
“What?”
Tom asked.
“Why are they asking Grandma now?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Lily continued.
“If they could fake all those other papers, why can’t they fake this one?”
Rebecca and Pierce exchanged a look.
Lily had identified the problem.
The criminals had forged documents before.
Why suddenly demand a genuine signature?
Evelyn leaned forward.
“Because the mineral rights agreement has a biometric notarization requirement.”
Rebecca nodded slowly.
“They need Evelyn physically present.”
Tom’s face changed.
“This isn’t about a signature.”
Pierce was already reaching for his phone.
“It’s bait.”
May you like
They did not want Evelyn to sign remotely.
They wanted Evelyn brought to them.
