Chapter 5: The Missing Signature
Nadia couldn't stop thinking about the blank page.
Three weeks earlier, Trent had handed her a contract in the café office.
He had been friendly that day.
He'd offered her coffee, complimented her portfolio, and told her that Gloria wanted to create something special for the reopening.
The agreement was six pages long.
Nadia had read every section carefully.
Except one.
The final page.
Trent had told her the office would complete the administrative details later.
“Just sign here,” he had said.
“Why is this section blank?””
“It's for the final approval number.””
“Can you fill it in first?””
He had laughed.
“It's standard paperwork, Nadia. Don't worry about it.””
She had hesitated.
Then he'd pointed to the other signatures.
His name was already there.
So she signed.
Now, sitting in Gloria's office, Nadia felt sick.
“Gloria,” she said, “I think I know how he did it.””
Gloria turned.
“What do you mean?””
“The contract I signed. There was a blank page.””
Trent immediately interrupted.
“That's not relevant.””
Nadia looked at him.
“I haven't even explained what was on it.””
“You're confused.””
“I remember exactly what you told me.””
Gloria pulled out a chair.
“Tell me everything.””
Nadia took a breath.
“He gave me the contract before the mural started. Most of it was normal. Payment terms, deadlines, revisions, materials. But the last page had a blank section.””
“What did he say?””
“That the office would complete it later.””
Gloria's expression tightened.
“Did you keep a copy?””
“Yes.””
Nadia opened her email and searched for the scanned agreement.
A moment later, she found it.
She forwarded the document to Gloria.
Trent leaned over the desk.
“Don't open that.””
Gloria looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because that's a contractor agreement. It's not relevant to the company's internal finances.””
Gloria opened the file anyway.
The six pages appeared on the screen.
She scrolled through the first five.
Then reached the final page.
Nadia pointed.
“That's where I signed.””
Gloria enlarged the document.
The signature was clearly Nadia's.
But underneath it was another section.
It had been completed after Nadia signed.
The text read:
*PROJECT AUTHORIZATION: FULL WALL RESTORATION AND REPLACEMENT.*
Below it was a second line:
*CONTRACTOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT: ACCEPTANCE OF ALL RELATED COSTS.*
And beneath that, Nadia's signature had been copied into the acknowledgment field.
She stared at the screen.
“I never signed that.””
Trent shook his head.
“You signed the contract.””
“I signed for a mural. Not a restoration project.””
“It's the same project.””
“No, it isn't!””
Gloria enlarged the timestamp.
The document history showed something even worse.
Nadia's signature had been added on Monday.
The additional authorization had been inserted on Wednesday.
Two days after the original contract had been signed.
Gloria turned toward Trent.
“Did you alter this document?””
He crossed his arms.
“It was an administrative correction.””
“You added a new authorization after she signed?””
“The language was already agreed upon.””
Nadia felt her face grow hot.
“You never showed me this.””
“You don't understand commercial contracts.””
“I understand my own signature!””
Trent slammed his palm against the desk.
“Enough!””
Everyone fell silent.
He pointed at Nadia.
“You were hired to paint a wall. You got paid an advance. You completed the job. Now you're acting like some kind of victim because the design didn't meet expectations.””
Nadia stood.
“I haven't been paid my final four thousand dollars.””
“Because the job was rejected.””
“By you. After you approved it.””
“You don't get to decide what the café wants.””
“And you don't get to change my contract after I sign it!””
Gloria stepped between them.
“Sit down, Trent.””
He didn't move.
“I'm done with this.””
“Then hand over your company access card.””
His eyes widened.
“What?””
“Your access card. Your office keys. And the administrator credentials.””
“You're suspending me?””
“I'm investigating you.””
He laughed.
“You'll regret this.””
Gloria didn't respond.
Instead, she picked up the phone and called the building's security supervisor.
“Please deactivate Trent's office access and preserve the footage from the front dining area and the management office. I want copies of everything from the last thirty days.””
Trent stared at her.
“You can't do that.””
“I just did.””
Renee shifted in her chair.
“Gloria, please. Don't make this worse.””
Gloria turned.
“You knew about the payments?””
“No.””
“You knew about the altered contract?””
“No.””
“Then why are you defending him?””
Renee lowered her eyes.
“I wasn't defending him. I was trying to protect the café.””
Gloria gave a humorless laugh.
“By letting him destroy a contractor's work?””
Renee's face flushed.
“I didn't know about the money.””
Nadia looked at her.
“But you knew he was going to paint over the mural.””
Renee didn't answer.
“You stood there,” Nadia continued.
“You watched him cover it. You told me to do it again for free.””
Renee swallowed.
“I was following instructions.””
“From Trent?””
“Yes.””
“And you thought that was acceptable?””
Renee finally raised her voice.
“You don't understand the pressure we were under!””
Nadia stared at her.
“What pressure?””
Renee looked toward Trent.
He was now pacing beside the door.
“Trent told me the landlord was threatening to cancel the café's lease. He said the mural would cause problems during the inspection.””
Gloria frowned.
“What?””
Renee nodded.
“He said the landlord didn't approve the design. He told me that if the mural stayed up, the café could lose its renovation allowance.””
Gloria slowly turned toward the computer.
“That's not true.””
Renee looked confused.
“How do you know?””
“Because I approved the mural myself. And the landlord approved the decorative installation in writing.””
Gloria opened her email archive again.
She searched the date of Nadia's original contract.
A message appeared.
The subject line read:
*APPROVED DESIGN — FRONT DINING AREA.*
Gloria opened it.
There was an attached PDF containing the original artwork.
Nadia's artwork.
The exact mural now covered in white paint.
And beneath the image was a clear authorization from the property management company.
Gloria looked at Trent.
“You told Renee the landlord rejected the mural.””
He said nothing.
“You told Nadia the design was approved.””
Still nothing.
“And you submitted thousands of dollars in fake restoration invoices using the same project.””
Trent finally snapped.
“Because the café needed money!””
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Everyone froze.
Gloria slowly put down her phone.
“What did you just say?””
Trent closed his eyes briefly.
“I meant the renovation budget needed managing.””
Gloria stared at him.
“You just admitted the money wasn't used for the work.””
“I didn't admit anything.””
“You said the café needed money.””
He pointed at the screen.
“Look, I handled expenses. I moved things around. That's what managers do.””
Gloria's voice dropped.
“Managers don't invent contractors.””
Trent looked at Renee.
“Tell her how much work I've done for this place.””
Renee said nothing.
He tried again.
“Renee!””
She looked at him.
“You told me the payments were approved.””
“They were!””
“Gloria says they weren't.””
Trent stepped toward her.
“You're going to believe her over me?””
Renee looked down.
Then she said something Nadia hadn't expected.
“I have the emails.””
Trent stopped.
Gloria turned.
“What emails?””
Renee reached into her bag and pulled out a small tablet.
“I saved them because I thought something was wrong.””
Trent's face drained of color.
“Renee, don't.””
She unlocked the tablet.
“There were messages between Trent and Mason. About the renovation payments.””
Gloria approached.
“Can I see them?””
Renee nodded.
She opened the email folder.
The first message was dated six weeks earlier.
The subject line was:
*WESTBRIDGE — PAYMENT SCHEDULE.*
Gloria began reading.
Then her eyes stopped on one sentence.
She looked at Renee.
“Did you send this email to Trent?””
“No.””
“Then who did?””
Renee turned the screen around.
The sender wasn't Mason.
It was someone using the café owner's own email address.
Gloria stared at it.
Because the message had been sent from her account while she was overseas.
And the instructions were unmistakable.
*Transfer the money before the Friday inspection. Make sure nobody connects the payments to Westbridge.*
Gloria slowly stepped back.
“Someone has been using my email.””
Trent said nothing.
May you like
But Nadia noticed him glance toward the office printer.
And suddenly, Gloria understood why.
