Chapter 5 - THE SHARES MICHAEL NEEDED
Claire Walker had owned forty-eight percent of Walker Advanced Systems.
Emma inherited those shares.
But not directly.
They were held in a protective trust until one of two events:
Emma turned thirty-five.
Or Emma gave birth to her first living child.
Noah’s birth triggered release.
Emma stared at Julia.
“I didn’t know that.”
“You were supposed to receive formal notice after delivery.”
“Michael knew?”
“We need to determine that.”
He did.
Company emails showed Michael had requested trust documents months earlier using his position as Emma’s spouse and informal financial adviser.
He was denied.
Then Ashley Knox entered the picture.
Ashley was not merely a consultant.
She was Walker Advanced Systems’ deputy general counsel.
She had access to corporate records.
Trust schedules.
Board minutes.
Estate documents.
Emma felt sick.
“How long?”
Julia answered carefully.
“We don’t know the full extent of their relationship.”
Not what Emma meant.
“How long were they sleeping together?”
Silence.
Then:
“At least fourteen months.”
Emma stared at Noah.
The child Michael had tried to kill.
The child whose birth would unlock her shares.
“What happens to the shares if I die?”
Julia turned a document.
Emma’s current will—signed five years earlier—left most marital assets to Michael.
The Walker shares were more complicated.
The trust instrument directed them according to Emma’s estate plan once distributed.
If Emma died before distribution without a living descendant, Michael had a plausible path.
But Noah existed.
Once born, he became contingent beneficiary.
Michael’s window was narrow.
Before Noah’s live birth.
Emma suddenly understood.
“He needed us both dead before delivery.”
Julia did not contradict her.
But she added:
“Motive is not proof of attempted murder.”
Emma almost screamed.
Hayes said quietly:
“Then we build proof.”
Michael was already building his own.
He told the board Emma’s fall had followed a period of emotional instability.
He sought temporary authority to manage her voting interests while she recovered.
Ashley supported the request.
Then Walker Advanced Systems’ board counsel produced a power-of-attorney document.
Signed by Emma.
Granting Michael broad authority if she became incapacitated.
Emma stared.
“That is not my signature.”
Julia examined it.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Hayes looked at the notary seal.
Then his face changed.
“What?”
He pointed.
The notary was registered in Virginia.
The document said Emma signed in New York.
Possible.
But suspicious.
More importantly, the date was the same day Emma had been in Chicago for a prenatal conference.
Flight records could prove it.
Michael’s first legal weapon had a crack.
Then Ashley called Emma.
Directly.
First time since the cliff.
Emma answered.
Ashley was crying.
“Michael knows you survived.”
Emma’s voice became cold.
“I assumed.”
“No.”
Ashley breathed quickly.
“He knows what you told police.”
“Good.”
“Emma, listen to me.”
“Why?”
May you like
“Because he thinks the cliff wasn’t enough.”
The line went dead.
