He answered it and put it on speaker.

“Nathan,” the lawyer’s voice came through, sounding tired. “The board just held an emergency meeting.”

“On what grounds?” Nathan asked, his voice tight.

“Eleanor presented allegations of financial mismanagement,” the lawyer said. “They have voted to temporarily suspend you as CEO.”

Nathan closed his eyes, his jaw tightening.

“She is trying to lock me out before we can prove anything,” he said.

“They have frozen your corporate accounts,” the lawyer added. “You need to stay low until we can sort this out.”

Nathan ended the call and stared at the worn carpet.

“She thinks she has won,” he said quietly.

“We still have this,” I said, holding up the torn scrap of paper we had recovered from the estate.

The paper showed a partial signature and a date from thirty-one years ago.

It was my mother’s handwriting, right next to the name of Nathan’s grandfather, the founder of the company.

“They were legally married,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “Before he died, they married in secret.”

Nathan looked at the date on the paper.