Chapter 5: The Signature That Shouldn't Exist

The boardroom fell into stunned silence.

Every pair of eyes shifted to Ava.

She could feel their judgment before a single word was spoken.

Lucas carefully slid the document across the polished conference table.

"Miss Carter..."

"I think you should see this yourself."

Ava's fingers trembled as she picked it up.

At the bottom of the agreement was a signature.

Ava Carter.

It was unmistakably hers.

The elegant curve of the "A."

The sharp stroke beneath her surname.

Every detail matched the way she had signed her name since college.

"No..." she whispered.

"This isn't possible."

She looked up, panic filling her eyes.

"I've never seen this document before."

One of the board members scoffed.

"Then how did your signature end up there?"

"I don't know!"

The elderly director folded his arms.

"Mr. Blackwood, this is exactly why we advised against rushing into another engagement."

Several executives nodded.

"The media is already questioning your judgment."

"This scandal could damage Blackwood Group's reputation."

Damien remained seated.

His expression never changed.

"Have you finished?"

The room grew quiet.

He slowly picked up the agreement.

"What did the handwriting expert actually say?"

Lucas cleared his throat.

"He confirmed that the handwriting is genuine."

"And?"

"He couldn't determine when it was written."

Damien placed the document back on the table.

"So no one can prove it was signed today."

Lucas blinked.

"That's... correct."

Damien looked around the room.

"Then we aren't dealing with a forged signature."

"We're dealing with a signature that has been copied from somewhere else."

Ava frowned.

"What do you mean?"

He turned toward her.

"Have you ever signed blank papers?"

She searched her memory.

"No."

Then—

Her face suddenly lost all color.

"There was one time..."

Everyone looked at her.

"It was almost a year ago."

"My father asked me to sign several documents."

"He said they were needed for an emergency business loan."

"I didn't read them."

"I trusted him."

Silence spread through the room.

The realization hit her like a freight train.

"Oh my God..."

Her own father.

Could he have...

Damien answered the question she couldn't bring herself to ask.

"He didn't forge your signature."

"He collected it."

---

Across the city...

The Lawson mansion.

Ethan stood beside the window, watching reporters gathered outside the gates.

His phone rang.

"Well?"

A woman's voice answered.

"She's beginning to remember."

Ethan's jaw tightened.

"Faster than expected."

"What do we do?"

He smiled coldly.

"Nothing."

"Once she remembers who gave those signatures..."

"...she'll stop trusting her own family."

He ended the call.

Behind him, Chloe entered the room.

"You don't look worried."

"I should be?"

"It's Damien Blackwood."

"He won't stop until he finds the truth."

Ethan laughed quietly.

"Then he'll have to dig through a grave."

Chloe frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Ethan took another sip of coffee.

"The only man who knew where those papers came from..."

"...died six months ago."

---

Back at Blackwood Group...

The meeting finally ended.

Most of the board members left unconvinced.

Only one remained behind.

An elderly woman named Eleanor Whitmore.

She had served on the board for nearly thirty years.

She approached Ava.

"May I give you some advice?"

Ava nodded.

"Never underestimate powerful families."

"They don't destroy people overnight."

"They destroy them piece by piece."

Her words lingered long after she walked away.

---

Later that evening...

The Blackwood estate was unusually quiet.

Ava sat alone in the library.

She couldn't stop thinking about her father.

Had he really used her?

Or had someone manipulated him too?

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.

Damien entered carrying two cups of coffee.

"I wasn't sure if you preferred tea."

She accepted the mug.

"Thank you."

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Finally, Ava broke the silence.

"Why are you helping me?"

Damien looked into his coffee.

"When I was sixteen..."

"My father was accused of stealing company funds."

Ava looked up.

"He didn't do it."

"But everyone believed the evidence."

"What happened?"

"He took his own life before the truth came out."

The confession hung heavily between them.

"For years," Damien continued quietly, "I wished someone had believed him."

He met her eyes.

"I won't make the same mistake."

Ava felt something shift inside her.

For the first time...

She wasn't looking at Damien Blackwood, the billionaire.

She was looking at a man carrying wounds as deep as her own.

Before she could respond, Lucas burst into the library.

"Sir!"

Damien immediately stood.

"What happened?"

Lucas was breathing hard.

"Our investigators found the bank where Miss Carter signed those loan documents."

Hope flickered across Ava's face.

"You found the proof?"

Lucas hesitated.

"We did."

"But..."

His voice faltered.

"The bank burned down three months ago."

Ava's heart sank.

"The records?"

"Gone."

Silence.

Then Lucas spoke again.

"There's something else."

Damien's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"The security cameras from that day weren't destroyed."

"They were removed..."

"...by someone from the Lawson Group."

The room froze.

Damien's expression turned dangerously cold.

"So."

"They're not just hiding evidence."

"They're hunting it."

At that exact moment, Ava's phone vibrated.

Unknown Number.

With trembling fingers, she answered.

"Hello?"

A familiar voice whispered from the other end.

"If you want to know who betrayed you first..."

"...don't ask your father."

The line went dead.

A second later, a message appeared on her screen.

It contained only one photograph.

Ava stared at it.

Her hands began to shake uncontrollably.

Damien took the phone from her.

His face hardened.

The photo showed Ava, smiling as she signed those documents a year ago.

Standing beside her...

Was not her father.

It was Damien's own uncle.