Chapter 4 - THE PAPERS IN THE SAFE
The support worker's name was Miriam. She met Nora and Lena at a community legal center and explained their options without pushing them toward a single decision.
Nora could report the assault. She could request help retrieving her belongings. She could ask a lawyer to review the documents she had signed for Julian's foundation. She could also make a safety plan in case he tried to contact her again.
“Do you have access to your email?” Miriam asked.
“Some of it.”
“Change the passwords from a device he has never used. Start with your primary email and banking. Turn on two-factor authentication. If you share any accounts, tell your bank what has happened.”
Nora followed the instructions that evening using Lena's laptop.
The first surprise came when she opened her cloud storage. A folder she had never seen appeared under the name “Nora Vale Foundation.”
Inside were scans of documents bearing her signature.
She opened the first.
It was a director's consent form.
The second was a power of attorney limited to certain financial transactions.
The third was a declaration stating that she had reviewed the foundation's initial funding and approved the transfer of several assets.
Nora's mouth went dry.
“I didn't approve this.”
Lena leaned over her shoulder.
“Did you sign it?”
“I signed something at his office. He said it was for the charity. I never saw these pages.”
They printed the documents and took them to the legal center the following morning. Miriam helped them arrange a consultation with an attorney named Evelyn Shaw.
Evelyn read the pages carefully.
“These need proper legal review,” she said. “I can't tell you from these copies alone whether the signatures are validly authorized or whether the documents can be challenged. But you should not contact Julian about them. We need the originals and the surrounding emails.”
Nora nodded.
“Can you help me get my things?”
“We can send a formal request and arrange a supervised collection. Do not go to the penthouse alone.”
Evelyn made a note of the foundation's name.
“Have you heard of Adrian Vale?” Nora asked.
Evelyn glanced up. “The Halcyon owner?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He has security footage from the night Julian grabbed me.”
“Then ask his legal representative to preserve it. We may need it.”
Nora called Adrian from the hallway.
He answered on the first ring.
“I have a lawyer now,” she said.
“Good.”
“She wants the footage preserved and available through the proper channels.”
“It already is. I'll have our counsel contact her.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you asking me for anything else?”
Nora hesitated.
“Do you know why Julian would create a foundation in my name?”
Adrian was quiet for a moment.
“I know Northline has been restructuring several assets. I don't know what Julian intended to do with your signature.”
“Could the foundation be connected?”
“Possibly. But don't take my guess as evidence. Let your attorney investigate.”
It was the first time someone had told Nora not to trust a theory simply because it sounded convincing.
She appreciated it.
When she returned to the table, Evelyn was looking at the third document.
“This one concerns a property transfer,” she said. “Do you recognize the address?”
Nora read it.
The address belonged to a building where her mother had once run a small design studio.
May you like
The building had been sold after her death.
Or so Nora had been told.
