Chapter 4 - What Marcus Had Been Hiding
“Don’t.”
Maya’s voice stopped Marcus before his hand reached the door.
He stood with his back to everyone.
Richard looked confused.
Jennifer looked frightened.
Elaine simply looked exhausted.
Maya lowered her phone.
“Samantha says you filed a petition involving the trust.”
Marcus turned.
“I didn’t.”
“She’s looking at your name.”
“Then she’s looking at something wrong.”
“She’s my attorney.”
“And I'm an attorney.”
“Which makes this worse.”
Richard stepped forward.
“What petition?”
Marcus looked genuinely confused now.
That gave Maya pause.
Not innocent.
But confused.
Maya put Samantha on speaker.
“Explain.”
Samantha’s voice filled the office.
“A petition was electronically filed this afternoon requesting declaratory relief regarding the Wilson Family Trust.”
Richard frowned.
“Declaratory relief for what?”
“The filing argues that certain business interests held by Maya may be partially attributable to resources, introductions, or capital support originating from the family.”
Maya laughed.
“They're claiming the trust helped build my companies?”
“Yes.”
“That’s absurd.”
“I agree.”
Marcus approached the desk.
“What docket?”
Samantha read the number.
He pulled out his phone and typed.
His face changed.
“I didn’t file this.”
Maya watched him.
“What about the signature?”
Marcus turned his screen.
His digital signature appeared at the bottom.
“That is mine.”
Jennifer stared.
“So you filed it.”
“No.”
“You just said it’s your signature.”
“It’s an electronic signature profile.”
Maya’s attention sharpened.
“The same profile used to sign my name on the Riverside document?”
Marcus looked at her.
“No.”
Robert spoke from the corner.
“We can compare the certificates.”
Maya nodded.
“Do it.”
Marcus looked less offended this time.
More worried.
Robert connected the relevant records.
Samantha emailed the petition signature file.
Within minutes, Robert had both certificates on his screen.
“They originated from different services.”
Marcus exhaled.
“See?”
Robert continued.
“But both were authenticated using Mr. Wilson’s law-firm email.”
Marcus’s relief vanished.
Maya studied him.
“Who has access to your email?”
“No one.”
Thomas laughed quietly.
Everyone looked toward him.
Marcus’s voice sharpened.
“What?”
Thomas leaned back.
“You really have no idea, do you?”
“About what?”
“The game you were playing.”
Marcus walked toward him.
“Say what you mean.”
Thomas looked at Maya instead.
“Your brother hired me to investigate you. Your father paid me. But neither of them understood what they were actually buying.”
Richard’s face darkened.
“You're trying to save yourself.”
Thomas shrugged.
“Maybe.”
Maya said, “Explain.”
Thomas looked almost tired.
“When Richard first contacted me, he wanted information about you.”
“We established that.”
“But Marcus became more interested in the corporate side.”
Marcus said nothing.
“He wanted ownership maps. Holdings. People in your companies. People who might talk.”
Maya’s stomach tightened.
Thomas continued.
“I introduced him to a private intelligence consultant.”
Marcus snapped, “He was a legitimate investigator.”
“Once.”
“What does that mean?”
Thomas smiled faintly.
“It means you never checked him properly.”
Maya looked between them.
“Name.”
“Evan Cross.”
Robert immediately searched the name.
Thomas continued.
“Cross used to work in corporate investigations. Then he moved into less respectable work.”
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“You told me he was licensed.”
“He was.”
“Was?”
“He lost his license in another state two years ago.”
Maya’s patience thinned.
“What did he access?”
Thomas looked at Marcus.
“You should ask him.”
Maya did.
Marcus sat heavily.
“I hired Cross to verify some information.”
“What information?”
“Your companies.”
“How?”
“Records. Contacts.”
“Did you ask him to access private systems?”
“No.”
“Did you give him your law-firm credentials?”
Marcus hesitated.
Maya closed her eyes.
“Marcus.”
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“He needed temporary access to a document portal.”
Jennifer whispered, “Oh my God.”
Marcus turned toward her.
“It was a secure client portal.”
“You gave an outside investigator access to your law firm's system?”
“Temporary access.”
Thomas smiled.
“And apparently he kept it.”
Maya looked at Robert.
“Could Cross have generated these signatures?”
“If he retained authentication access, potentially.”
Samantha spoke through the phone.
“I need Marcus to contact his firm’s IT department immediately.”
Marcus nodded and walked toward the window.
For the first time, he did exactly what someone else told him without arguing.
Maya watched.
Something about the entire story still felt wrong.
“Why would Cross file a trust petition?”
Thomas’s expression became serious.
“Money.”
“Whose?”
“Yours.”
Richard scoffed.
“That doesn't make sense.”
Thomas looked at him.
“It does if someone believes Maya’s family has created enough paperwork to establish a dispute.”
Maya understood.
“A settlement play.”
Samantha answered.
“Possibly.”
Thomas nodded.
“Create questionable claims. Trigger litigation. Introduce confidential business information during discovery. Put pressure on Maya before major transactions close.”
Maya’s mind raced.
Project Lantern.
Three downtown properties.
Nearly two hundred million dollars in combined redevelopment capital.
A public family dispute could complicate financing.
Not destroy it.
But delay it.
And delays could cost millions.
“Cross knows about Lantern.”
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.”
“Because Marcus gave him access.”
Marcus turned away from the phone call.
“I did not give him Lantern.”
“You gave him the door.”
That silenced him.
Richard looked at Thomas.
“What did you do?”
Thomas’s face hardened.
“I quit.”
Maya almost laughed.
“You expect me to believe you developed a conscience?”
“No.”
At least he was honest.
“I discovered Cross was preparing documents using my name too.”
“So you became afraid.”
“Yes.”
“Better.”
Thomas continued.
“I copied everything I could before I walked away.”
“The USB?”
“Yes.”
“What’s on it?”
“Emails. Drafts. payment records. Messages.”
“From whom?”
Thomas looked at Richard.
“Everyone.”
Richard shook his head.
“This is blackmail.”
“No. Blackmail would involve me asking for money.”
“What do you want?”
Thomas looked at Maya.
“To avoid being blamed for whatever Cross is doing.”
“Then why text me anonymously?”
“Because I didn’t know who inside your family I could trust.”
Maya almost corrected him.
Then realized she didn't know either.
Marcus returned from the call.
His face had changed.
“My account was compromised.”
Samantha asked, “How long?”
“IT sees unauthorized login tokens going back almost four months.”
Richard sat down.
Elaine whispered, “What does that mean?”
“It means Cross may have had access to my email.”
Maya looked at him.
“And client information.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The admission seemed physically painful.
Not because he had betrayed Maya.
Because his career might be at risk.
She hated herself for thinking that.
But she couldn't unthink it.
Jennifer stepped closer.
“Marcus, did you know Dad was changing the trust because Maya was rich?”
“Yes.”
“Did you agree?”
He looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He exhaled.
“Because I thought it made sense.”
“You thought she deserved fifty thousand?”
“I thought she didn't need money.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
“No.”
It was the first honest answer he had given all day.
Jennifer crossed her arms.
“You sat there while Dad insulted her career.”
“I know.”
“You knew she was worth hundreds of millions.”
“Yes.”
“And you laughed when she said she worked in private equity.”
Marcus looked at Maya.
Shame moved across his face.
“I know.”
Maya felt no satisfaction.
Only fatigue.
Samantha spoke again.
“Maya, we need to move quickly. I can file a response challenging the petition and request sanctions if the signature proves fraudulent.”
“Do it.”
“I’ll need supporting declarations.”
“Robert can provide Riverside records. Marcus can provide the IT breach report.”
Marcus nodded reluctantly.
Samantha continued.
“And Maya?”
“Yes?”
“Do not open the USB drive on any company system.”
Maya looked at Thomas.
“Why?”
“Until we verify it’s clean, assume everything is compromised.”
Robert nodded.
“I can isolate a machine.”
“Good.”
Thomas rubbed his hands together.
“There’s something else you should see first.”
Maya stared at him.
“You keep saying that.”
“This one matters.”
He took an envelope from inside his jacket.
Richard stood.
“No.”
Thomas looked toward him.
Maya noticed.
“What is it?”
Thomas placed the envelope on the desk.
A bank logo appeared in the corner.
The envelope had already been opened.
Maya removed the documents.
Wire transfer confirmations.
Several.
One hundred thousand.
Seventy-five thousand.
Fifty thousand.
All sent to Cross Consulting Group.
The sender was Wilson Strategic Holdings.
Marcus looked stunned.
“I authorized the first payment.”
Thomas nodded.
“And the rest?”
Marcus flipped through the pages.
“I didn't.”
Richard said, “Neither did I.”
Maya examined the dates.
Some transfers happened after Thomas claimed he quit.
“Who controls Wilson Strategic’s bank account?”
Marcus frowned.
“I do.”
“Anyone else?”
“No.”
Thomas shook his head.
“That’s not what the account opening documents say.”
Marcus stared at him.
“What?”
Thomas pulled another sheet from the envelope.
Maya read it.
Authorized signers:
Marcus Wilson.
Richard Wilson.
And a third name.
Elaine Wilson.
Everyone turned toward Maya’s mother.
Elaine looked as shocked as anyone.
“I never signed that.”
Maya felt the air leave the room.
Richard whispered, “Elaine?”
“I didn’t.”
Marcus grabbed the paper.
“That signature looks like yours.”
“It isn’t.”
Maya looked at Thomas.
“How many signatures did Cross have?”
“Enough.”
Then Maya saw something else.
A handwritten notation at the bottom of one bank record.
Source reimbursement: Wilson Family Trust Administrative Account.
She looked up.
“Were these payments coming from the trust?”
Richard’s face turned pale.
“No.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Dad?”
“No.”
Maya handed the page to Samantha’s voice on speaker as though she could see it.
“Sam, I think trust money was used.”
Silence.
Then Samantha said, “Do not move any funds. I’m requesting an emergency accounting.”
Jennifer looked sick.
“How much?”
Thomas answered.
“I know of at least four hundred twenty-five thousand.”
Elaine sank into a chair.
Marcus stared at his father.
“You told me you funded Wilson Strategic personally.”
Richard did not respond.
Maya felt the pieces shifting again.
Her father had investigated her.
Her brother had hired Cross.
Someone had forged signatures.
And the family trust itself may have paid for the operation.
The same trust they had just reduced Maya to $50,000 from.
Maya looked directly at Richard.
“Did you use trust money to investigate me?”
His eyes filled with something she had never seen before.
Fear.
Before he could answer, Robert’s computer chimed.
A system alert appeared.
He leaned closer.
“What is it?” Maya asked.
Robert’s expression hardened.
“Someone is attempting remote access to the club’s administrative server.”
Marcus immediately asked, “From where?”
Robert typed rapidly.
Then stopped.
The office became silent.
“Well?” Maya said.
Robert looked at her.
“The login is using your credentials.”
Maya stepped toward the screen.
“That’s impossible.”
Robert opened the location data.
The connection was not coming from her office.
Not from her home.
Not from any property she owned.
The IP address resolved to a familiar location.
Marcus’s law firm.
Then another alert appeared.
A file had just been opened remotely.
Robert stared at the screen.
Maya read the filename.
MAYA WILSON — OWNERSHIP DOCUMENTS.
A download bar appeared.
Thirty percent.
Forty.
Fifty.
Someone was stealing her records in real time.
Robert reached for the network cutoff.
Before he could press it, Maya’s phone buzzed.
A new message.
May you like
Unknown number.
Don't disconnect me, Maya. We finally need to talk.
