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“Theo, your father had a heart attack last night.”
“What?” My lips part, as do Theo’s. “Is he all right?”
The man’s expression falls. “I’m sorry, Theo. He passed away.”
Theo’s head jerks back like he’s been slapped. “What? I don’t understand.”
“He suffered a massive heart attack. His staff found him this morning.”
Theo is silent for a beat, allowing the news to settle in. His face is blank of emotion. Finally, he nods. “Thank you for coming to tell me. Let me know what’s needed of me.”
“Nothing right now. Take some time to grieve, and we can discuss his will and funeral later. I’m so sorry for your loss, Theo.”
Theo nods. “Thank you.” He sees the gentleman out.
“Are you okay?” I ask, unsure how he’s taking this news. Hatred or not, it’s still his father. He turns, his expression grim. “Theo, I’m so sorry. What can I do?”
There’s another knock on the door. This time, it’s Theo’s lawyer. “Theo, I just heard—”
“I need to know what this means,” he spits out to Craig.
“Theo, we don’t need to do this—”
“What does this mean?” He inhales a staggered breath, brushing his hands down his face.
“That’s what I need to tell you.” He retrieves an envelope from inside his briefcase.
“What is this?”
“It’s not good. I need to prepare you.”
Theo rips the envelope open and unfolds the documents. “What the fuck?”
“What is it?” I ask, but Theo ignores me.
“How did you get this?”
“It was faxed to my office early this morning.”
He flips through the pages, his jaw clenched. “That son of a bitch.”
“What’s going on?” I ask for a second time. I lean over, trying to get a view of the documents.
“Charles expedited the merger. The date was marked as yesterday,” Theo says.
“But doesn’t it have to have your father’s signature on it?”
“It does,” Theo snaps.
“We’ll fight that,” Craig adds. “All final signatures and dates were timestamped yesterday. Due to Alfred’s sudden death, there’ll be a lot of questions surrounding it.”
That gets both of our attention. “As in, Charles knew about my father’s death, then submitted it after the fact?”
Craig shrugs. “Could be. I had a guy keeping track of them both. I’m not sure the specific time of death, but Charles Hill did visit your father last night.”
Theo’s face pales. “So did I.” Theo looks back at me.
“No one’s saying he was murdered. We just need to stick to the facts. Did your father sign the papers before he died? Was it out of duress? Was he alive when Charles left?”
