Chapter 2 - The Second Signature
Naomi had not seen Adrian Mercer in almost three years.
He looked thinner.
Older.
His once-black hair was mostly gray at the temples, and rain darkened the shoulders of his wool coat.
His eyes moved from Naomi to Bianca.
Then to the open cabinet.
“What happened?”
Naomi folded the transfer papers before he could see everything.
Bianca recovered first.
“She broke into Gabriel’s private cabinet.”
Naomi laughed.
“With a key Dad hid on his dog?”
Adrian’s eyes flickered toward Atlas.
Only for a second.
Enough.
He knew something about the key.
Naomi caught it.
Gabriel’s warning echoed in her head.
Do not tell them what Atlas gave you.
So she lied.
“The cabinet wasn’t locked.”
Bianca stared at her.
Adrian stepped farther into the cabin.
“Naomi, what did you find?”
“A recording.”
“What did Gabriel say?”
“That I shouldn’t trust anyone who asks me to sign away my shares.”
Adrian went quiet.
Bianca folded her arms.
“This melodrama is exactly why Gabriel should have handled succession before he died.”
Naomi looked at her.
“He did.”
She held up the will amendment.
Bianca’s expression tightened.
Adrian closed the door behind him.
“Let me see that.”
“No.”
“I’m your uncle.”
“You’re also listed on a transfer document Bianca wanted me to sign.”
That landed.
Adrian looked sharply at Bianca.
“You showed her that?”
“It was in Gabriel’s cabinet.”
Adrian cursed under his breath.
Naomi held the document closer.
“Why does she need your signature?”
Adrian did not answer immediately.
Lucas did.
“Because Mr. Adrian Mercer is trust protector.”
Naomi turned.
“What?”
Adrian rubbed his face.
Gabriel had appointed Adrian as protector of the Mercer Family Trust four years earlier.
The role gave him no ownership.
But certain extraordinary transactions—sale of controlling company shares, replacement of trustees, changes affecting voting control—required his written consent.
Naomi stared.
“Dad barely spoke to you.”
“That’s what he wanted people to think.”
Bianca snapped, “Enough.”
Naomi ignored her.
“Why?”
Adrian looked at Gabriel’s photograph.
“Because he believed somebody inside Mercer Maritime was stealing from him.”
Silence.
The yacht creaked under another gust.
Naomi’s heartbeat quickened.
“Who?”
Adrian glanced at Bianca.
Bianca’s face hardened.
“Careful.”
Naomi saw it.
Fear.
Not anger.
A warning.
Adrian continued carefully.
“Gabriel discovered irregular payments eighteen months ago. He suspected senior management.”
“Which senior management?”
“I don’t know all the names.”
Bianca laughed coldly.
“Liar.”
Adrian turned.
“You really want to do this now?”
“Yes,” Naomi said. “I really do.”
Lucas stepped toward the door.
“We should secure the cabin.”
Bianca moved in front of him.
“No one secures anything on my yacht.”
Naomi looked at the will amendment.
“It isn’t yours.”
Bianca’s mouth tightened.
“Probate is not finished.”
“No. But temporary authority is not ownership.”
Bianca stepped closer.
“You studied marketing, Naomi. Not trust law.”
“I studied enough to know unsigned transfer papers aren’t gifts.”
Adrian almost smiled.
Bianca noticed.
“So this is amusing to you?”
“No.”
His expression changed.
“None of this has been amusing since Gabriel died.”
Naomi caught something in his tone.
“Do you think Dad knew he was going to die?”
Adrian looked away.
Gabriel Mercer had died six weeks earlier after suffering a massive cardiac event aboard a chartered jet returning from Lisbon.
Doctors confirmed natural causes.
No mystery.
No suspicious disappearance.
A heart already damaged by years of untreated hypertension finally failed.
At least that was what everyone believed.
Adrian said, “He knew he had health problems.”
“He told me they were controlled.”
“He lied.”
Naomi flinched.
Another secret.
Bianca said, “Gabriel lied constantly during his last year.”
Naomi turned.
“About what?”
“His health. His company. His finances.”
“And you were just trying to help?”
Bianca smiled without warmth.
“I was trying to prevent him from leaving a twenty-eight-year-old company to a daughter who hasn’t worked there since college.”
Naomi’s eyes sharpened.
“I’m twenty-six.”
“Exactly.”
The insult was deliberate.
Naomi refused to react.
She turned to Adrian.
“Why did you sign anything with Bianca?”
“I didn’t sign that transfer.”
“Your name is printed beneath hers.”
“Printed is not signed.”
Naomi checked.
He was right.
Signature line:
Adrian Mercer, Trust Protector.
Blank.
Bianca’s was blank too.
Naomi looked at Bianca.
“You haven’t completed it.”
“Because you refused to sign the first version.”
Naomi froze.
“What first version?”
Bianca realized her mistake.
Adrian closed his eyes.
Naomi stepped forward.
“What first version?”
Bianca said nothing.
Then Lucas quietly spoke.
“Three days after your father’s funeral, Ms. Bianca brought papers aboard.”
Naomi turned toward him.
“She told the crew you had already agreed to transfer management rights.”
“I never did.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lucas looked ashamed.
“Your father made me promise not to move until the contingency triggered.”
“What contingency?”
Lucas looked at Atlas.
Naomi’s fingers tightened around the brass key hidden in her palm.
Adrian noticed.
Not the key.
The movement.
Before anyone could speak, the satellite phone beeped.
A second saved file appeared.
GABRIEL — TRUST.
Naomi pressed play.
Her father’s voice returned.
“The transfer Bianca presents will look voluntary.”
Bianca whispered, “Turn that off.”
“No.”
“Naomi—”
Gabriel continued.
“She will say Mercer Maritime is in danger and that your shares must be consolidated temporarily.”
Naomi stared at Bianca.
“That’s exactly what you told me last week.”
Bianca’s face went rigid.
Gabriel’s voice remained calm.
“Do not believe her.”
Then a pause.
“The company is in danger.”
Naomi felt cold.
“But not for the reason she will tell you.”
The recording ended.
A third file existed.
Locked.
Password required.
Naomi stared at the screen.
Adrian whispered, “Gabriel always did love making people work for the truth.”
Naomi looked at him.
“You know the password?”
“No.”
Bianca turned toward the door.
“We’re done.”
Naomi stepped in front of her.
“No.”
May you like
For the first time in years, she sounded like Gabriel.
“Now we’re starting.”
