Chapter 2

Several thick stacks of documents lay across the desk. Irene motioned for me to sit before pouring me a cup of tea.

"Stephen, it's been three months since you've come home. I've been thinking… It's not enough to simply say I'll make it up to you."

She slid a document to me, her voice warm and kind. "These are the transfer papers for one of my subsidiary companies, along with the paperwork to change its legal representative. Once you sign them, the company will be yours. That way, you'll always have something to rely on even if I'm no longer around."

Another blue line of text floated above the papers.

"Beneficiary: Zane Harper."

"Objective: Use the real heir as the legal representative to take the fall for the company's impending three-billion-dollar tax fraud scandal."

I stared at the words and picked up the pen.

"You're so good to me, Mom."

I lowered my head, my pen hovering over the signature line.

"But there's some legal jargon I don't understand. Can I ask Ms. Sawyer about them privately? I don't want to embarrass you by not knowing what I'm doing after taking over the company."

Irene froze, then broke out into a pleased smile.

"Yes, of course. My darling Stephen is all grown up. Ms. Sawyer, tell Stephen what he wants to know. I'll see how lunch is coming along."

She left the study and closed the door. Only Elise and I remained.

Elise adjusted her glasses and spoke in a professional tone, "Which part would you like me to explain, Mr. Stephen?"

Instead of looking at the documents, I stared at her.

Floating above her head was a line of words.

"Beneficiary: Zane Harper."

"Objective: Assist Irene Grant in preparing fraudulent contracts. Shield Zane Harper from the tax investigation and let the real heir take the fall."

I twirled the pen between my fingers.

"On page three, clause seven, it says the addendum on debt assumption is bound in a way that allows the pages to be switched. If I sign, you can remove the original pages and replace them with a version listing Zane as the final beneficiary. That means I'll take the fall for the three-billion-dollar tax fraud, right?"

Elise instantly paled. She stood up so quickly that she knocked over the cups. Tea spilled across the desk.

"Mr. Harper, what are you talking about? It was Mrs. Harper who prepared these documents," she said, trying to remain calm.

"You know very well what I'm talking about."

I fished out my phone and played an audio recording. It appeared that I had started recording before entering the room.

Placing the phone on the desk, I told her, "Ms. Sawyer, this is fraud. If I hand these documents and this recording to the Financial Crimes Unit, how many years do you think you'll spend in jail?"

A beat of sweat rolled down Elise's forehead.

"What do you want?" she finally asked in a low voice.

"Make Zane Harper the legal representative and the party bearing final liability. Also, remove all the replaceable pages."

I held her gaze before continuing, "If you do that, I'll pretend nothing happened and sign the papers. If you refuse, I'll call the police right now."

Elise glared at me.

Just then, Zane walked past through the study's glass door. Her eyes instinctively followed him.

She looked at him like she was looking at something that belonged to her.

Gritting her teeth, she pulled out a backup copy from her briefcase. That one contained no loopholes. She filled in Zane Harper's name on the line for the party bearing legal responsibility.

Then, she pushed the contract to me. "You can sign now, Mr. Stephen."