Chapter 4 Signed Without Consent

You signed it", she repeated quietly.

"Yes".

The answer was steady . It was just too steady.

She could hear her heart beating fast.

"Why?"

"He was already gone", he said.

"But that's not what your mother implied".

He didn't answer.

Kate stepped closer. "What did the consent form say exactly?".

He looked at her closely. "Do not resuscitate ".

Her breathing seized for a bit.

"You signed a DNR for your father?"

"Kate, he was unconscious ".

"That's not what I asked".

"His organs were failing. The doctors asked for a decision. My mother was agitated".

"But you just said she was prepared".

No words . Now, his words are contradicting.

Kate's mind sharpened.

"You were the calm one, you made the call", she said slowly.

"I made the logical call", he corrected.

"You ended it".

His eyes became brighter.

"I ended his suffering".

Kate looked at his face trying to catch his expression.

"You're not sure", she whispered.

He set his glass down, almost breaking it.

"I don't live in doubt".

"Well, you live in control", she said calmly.

"And you?" He asked. "Oh! Well, you live in manipulation".

She didn't move.

"I beg to differ but I live in strategy".

They stood away from each other and you could feel the tension amidst them.

"You think I killed my father?" He asked quietly.

"I think you were pressured".

"By my mother?" He smiled.

"By power".

He laughed coldly. "You always think you understand this family".

"I think your mother, your mother, doesn't hate me for my profession".

"She hates me because I remind her of something".

"Of what?", he asked.

"Of a woman who once had influence over your father".

Chris' breathing slowed down dangerously but you could hear it because of how silent the room had become.

"You're reaching".

"Am I?".

She moved closer to him now .

"What if your father wasn't betrayed by a business partner? What if he was betrayed at home?" She said with a low voice.

He grabbed her waist firmly enough to stop her from speaking.

"Careful", he said.

Her heart cracked from the way his control was beginning to crack.

"Did he love someone else?", she pressed.

He tightened his grip around her waist.

"Stop".

"Don't you want to know?"

"I said stop", he said with a calm voice but it felt dangerous.

She leaned closer, whispering against his mouth.

"If your mother secured power before he died.... maybe she wasn't protecting you".

"Maybe she was only protecting herself".

He released her suddenly and stepped back.

"You're done digging", he said sharply.

"You don't control that".

"I do".

"How?" She challenged

"Because if you push further, like I already told you, I will destroy the only leverage you think you have" he said with a darker voice.

"And what leverage is that?"

He looked straight into her eyes.

"Me".

Kate felt it and thought it was true because she had entered his world strategically.

Elisabeth stood in the old master bedroom she had once shared with her late husband.

She hasn't slept there in years.

The unknown person stood in the shadows near the door.

"You told her about the consent form", Elisabeth said calmly.

"Yes".

"Why?"

"To accelerate the strain".

Elisabeth walked towards the nightstand and opened the drawer.

She brought out a hospital bracelet with her husband's name printed on it .

"You think she'll turn him against me?"

"She is very intelligent and also curious". The person said.

"But curiosity is fatal".

The unknown person stepped closer but remained in the shadows.

"She's also resilient".

Elisabeth dropped the bracelet and closed the drawer slowly.

"Then let's test her".

"How?"

Elisabeth picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Release the Brussels documents early and leak the internal audit", she instructed.

She ended the call.

"If Kate wants to play strategist, let's see how she handles collateral damage", Elisabeth murmured.

Kate left the private lounge just before midnight.

Chris didn't walk her out.

In the elevator, Kate's phone vibrated again.

It was the unknown person.

You're focusing on the hospital. Focus on the will.

"The will!" She said,

She typed back instantly.

What about it?

When the elevator doors opened, she got a notification with a news alert.

Breaking; Internal Audit Investigation at Cena Empire. Possible Financial Irregularities During CEO Transition.

Kate stood still.

"Audit during transition?" she thought.

Her pulse quickened. The transition that happened days after Chris's father's death.

It wasn't a coincidence.

She stepped out of the elevator and went outside the building .

Her phone rang.

It was Chris.

She answered immediately.

"Did you see it?", he asked.

"Yes".

His voice was filled with anger but controlled.

"This leak is intentional".

"You mean your mother?"

He didn't respond immediately.

"She doesn't benefit from destabilizing the company", he said carefully.

"Unless she wants to prove that you aren't ready".

He didn't respond.

"Chris, did the will name you as successor immediately?", she asked softly.

"Yes".

"No delays? No conditions?"

There was a pause.

"There was one clause though".

"What clause?" she asked anxiously.

"If I was deemed emotionally unfit to lead, control would revert temporarily to my mother".

Kate closed her eyes like she already knew where this was headed.

"And who determines emotional fitness?"

"The board".

"And who influenced the board after your father's death?"

The silence that came after was very loud.

"Chris, if the audit suggests mismanagement under your leadership......" she whispered.

"They can challenge my authority" he concluded.

"Yes"

Another silence that sounded like a bomb was felt.

"Come back", he said.

"Why?"

"Because if this is what I think it is....we're not being attacked separately".

"We're being cornered together", her pulse raced faster than it has ever done.

She thought "oh! He was finally saying we and trust build through conflict".

"Chris, did you ever read your father's will completely?", she asked carefully.

"Yes, I did".

"Then why would someone tell me to focus on it?".

His breathing suddenly changed.

"Unless", he said slowly, "there's a version I haven't seen".

"But that's impossible", he added quickly. "Lawyers oversee these things".

"Do you trust the family lawyer?" She asked.

He didn't answer.

Her phone buzzed again.

Another message from the unknown person.

This time, it was an image.

A scanned page flashed right in her eyes.

Title: Amendment to Last Will and Testament: Draft Copy.

Kate's heart dropped a beat.

"Draft copy, not the final?l

The amendment was dated two days before his death and it contained a single new line.

In the event of suspicious circumstances surrounding my passing, an independent review shall be conducted before full transfer of control.

"Suspicious circumstances, independent review?"

Kate's hands trembled.

"Chris, did an independent review happen?" She asked slowly.

"No".

"Then, this clause was removed".

Her phone buzzed one more time.

Ask him why he never questioned the missing amendment.

Kate lifted her eyes towards the High Rise.

Chris's voice came through the line.

"I heard your phone buzzing. What did you receive?"

"A draft of your father's will".

"And?" He demanded.

"It mentions an independent review in case of suspicious circumstances".

He froze.

"That clause doesn't exist in the final version".

"I know", she replied.

"Kate, whoever is feeding you this information is manipulating you", he said slowly but dangerously.

"Or protecting me, you mean" she replied sharply

"From what?"

She looked up at the Private Lounge windows and thought

"From you" she didn't say it out.

"Chris ... did you ever see a draft version of the will before it was finalized?"

A long pause.

"Yes"

Her heart stopped for a bit for not the first time.

"And?"

His voice was no longer composed and was now low.

"There was a clause about an independent review. "But it was gone when we signed".

"Who removed it?" She whispered.

He finally spoke after being quiet for ten seconds and his voice was full with doubt.

"I don't know".

And for the first time since she met him, Kate realized something frightening.

Chris Cena didn't control this game. Someone else did .

And that someone was close enough to rewrite a dying man's will.

Another message from the unknown person.

You are both standing on a lie.

Kate slowly lifted her eyes to the dark High Rise building.