PART6

At 7:30 the next morning, I was already awake.

I hadn’t slept much.

The photograph Zayn had given me sat on my kitchen table beside the original service agreement, the management transition proposal, and the printed server logs.

I had spent most of the night organizing everything chronologically.

Every email.
Every unauthorized redirect.
Every intercepted customer inquiry.
Every suspicious document.
Every message from Valerie.

And the video.

Especially the video.

At 8:05, my attorney, Michael, called.

“Heath, I’ve reviewed everything you sent.”

“What do you think?”

“I think you should attend the meeting, but don’t argue. Let them explain exactly what they intend to do. Bring copies of the original agreements and the documents you’ve found.”

“Do you think the signature is forged?”

“I can’t make a formal determination from a scan. But there are serious inconsistencies. We need the original documents and an independent review.”

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me.

“There’s something else,” I said. “My father may have known about the transfer.”

“Then don’t assume anything. Ask questions and preserve the answers.”

Before ending the call, Michael added something important.

“One more thing. Don’t delete or disable anything that belongs to your father’s business. Keep your own systems separate, preserve the records, and let the lawyers handle the ownership dispute.”

“I understand.”

At 8:35, I put the documents into a folder.

Then I placed the small purple butterfly sticker inside my wallet.

I wasn’t going to let anyone turn this into another argument about family loyalty.

This was about the truth.

At 8:58, I arrived at my father’s house.

A black SUV was parked beside the garage.

Valerie’s car was in front of the porch.

Through the living room window, I could see three people sitting around the dining table.

Dad.

Valerie.

And a man in a gray suit.

I recognized him from the email.

He was the attorney Valerie had contacted.

I knocked.

Dad opened the door.

His expression changed when he saw the folder in my hand.

“Heath. I thought we agreed to discuss this privately.”

“We didn’t agree to anything.”

He stepped aside.

I walked in.

Valerie was sitting at the dining table wearing a cream-colored blazer. Her hair was perfectly arranged, and a folder sat open in front of her.

She looked at me and smiled.

“Well, look who’s finally decided to cooperate.”

I didn’t respond.

The attorney stood.

“Mr. Overton?”

“Heath is fine.”

He introduced himself as Mr. Collins.

He explained that he had been asked to review a proposed management transition for Overton Lawn Care.

Then he pointed toward an empty chair.

“Please sit. We were just discussing the administrative transfer.”

I sat down.

Valerie pushed a document across the table.

“Everything is already prepared. You just need to acknowledge the transition.”

I didn’t touch it.

“Why is my signature on this?”

She sighed.

“Heath, we’ve already discussed this.”

“No, we haven’t.”

Dad shifted in his chair.

“Let’s not make this difficult.”

I turned toward him.

“Did you know this document existed?”

He looked at Valerie.

She answered before he could.

“Of course he knew. He’s the owner.”

I looked at Dad again.

“Did you authorize the use of my signature?”

His face tightened.

“I thought you had agreed to help your sister.”

“That isn’t what I asked.”

The attorney interrupted.

“Perhaps we should clarify the circumstances surrounding the document.”

I opened my folder.

“Good idea.”

I placed the original five-year service agreement on the table.

“This is the original contract I signed when I developed and maintained the company’s website.”

Then I placed the management transition proposal beside it.

“This is the document Valerie wants everyone to believe I approved.”

Mr. Collins examined both.

I continued.

“The signature on the second document is not mine. I never authorized the transfer of my software, design files, hosting infrastructure, or administrative credentials.”

Valerie rolled her eyes.

“Here we go again.”

I placed another sheet on the table.

“This is the original domain registration. This is the hosting invoice history. This is the development agreement. And these are the server records showing the unauthorized forwarding of customer inquiries.”

Mr. Collins stopped turning the pages.

He looked at Valerie.

“Did you provide these records to me?”

She shook her head.

“I didn’t know he had them.”

I almost smiled.

That was the first honest thing she had said all morning.

Mr. Collins examined the documents more carefully.

“Ms. Overton, I need to ask you something. Did Mr. Heath sign the management agreement?”

Valerie crossed her arms.

“He agreed verbally.”

“Do you have written confirmation?”

“That’s what the document is.”

“Did you personally witness him signing it?”

She hesitated.

“No.”

“Who prepared this document?”

“I did.”

The room became silent.

Mr. Collins placed the paper down.

“Then I need to suspend my review until the authenticity of this signature can be established.”

Valerie’s expression changed.

“You’re not serious.”

“I’m afraid I am.”

She turned toward Dad.

“Say something!”

Dad looked uncomfortable.

“What do you want me to say?”

“Tell him Heath agreed!”

Dad stared at the table.

I watched him carefully.

For years, he had always found a way to defend Valerie.

But now there were documents in front of him.

And there was nowhere left to hide.

Finally, he spoke.

“Valerie told me Heath had agreed to transfer the website.”

I nodded.

“Did you ever speak to me about it?”

“No.”

“Did you ever see me sign anything?”

He shook his head.

Valerie suddenly pushed her chair backward.

“This is ridiculous! You’re all acting like I’m some criminal because I tried to help Dad!”

I looked at her.

“Then explain the customer inquiries.”

She froze.

“Explain the twenty-three messages that were redirected from Dad’s website to your personal email.”

“I was helping him.”

“Then why did you tell four potential IT clients that I was no longer accepting work?”

She didn’t answer.

“Why did you delete seven messages?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Why did you tell relatives I was stealing customers?”

She looked at Dad.

“Because he was making everything difficult!”

I leaned forward.

“No, Valerie. I was doing my job.”

For the first time, her confidence began to disappear.

Then Mr. Collins asked a question that none of us expected.

“Ms. Overton, did you receive any money from customers who contacted the company through the redirected inquiries?”

Valerie looked down.

Dad turned toward her.

“What?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Mr. Collins remained calm.

“I’m asking whether any customer payments were redirected to a personal account.”

Valerie stood.

“I’m done with this meeting.”

But before she could leave, my father spoke.

“Valerie, sit down.”

She turned toward him.

“What?”

“Sit down. Answer the question.”

She looked at him as if she had never heard him speak that way before.

Then she slowly sat.

I opened my tablet.

“I don’t have access to your personal bank account, and I am not claiming to know where every payment went. But I found three customer emails asking why their deposits hadn’t appeared on the company’s invoices.”

Dad’s face changed.

“Deposits?”

I nodded.

“One customer mentioned paying $2,100. Another mentioned $1,750. The third asked for confirmation of a $900 payment.”

I turned the tablet toward him.

“Those payments were not reflected in the records I maintained.”

Dad looked at Valerie.

“Did you receive these payments?”

She shook her head quickly.

“They were reimbursements.”

“For what?” Dad asked.

“Expenses.”

“What expenses?”

CONTINUE FOR NEXT PART7…