Chapter 3 · I Left Him Nothing

The next morning at nine, I arrived at the notary office on the east side of the city.

The building was old, but the exterior had been freshly painted, and the old sycamore tree by the entrance was still there.

Eighteen years earlier, I had signed the Special Agreement on Founding Equity and Voting Rights right there.

The company had just been registered. Gavin handled sales, and Cora was only a salesperson he had hired. I didn't want to sit in the office every day, so I delegated my daily operating voting rights to Gavin.

But my mom had worked in finance before she passed.

She had told me only one thing before she died.

"Let others earn you the money, but never let anyone else control the company seal," she told me.

That was why the proxy agreement was perfectly clear.

I reserved the right to revoke the operational authority at any time.

Any major changes to equity, asset disposal, or shifts in control had to be confirmed in writing by me.

Otherwise, they wouldn't count.

Callie recognized me at the counter.

She pulled up the computer system, took off her reading glasses, and then put them back on.

"Daisy? From Daisy Biologics?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied.

She glanced at me. "I saw your company go public on the news the other day. Congrats."

I smiled. "Thanks. Could you pull up the sealed file from eighteen years ago?"

Callie tapped a few keys on her keyboard.

Then she suddenly stopped.

Her friendliness faded away.

"Someone came by yesterday to request this file," Callie said.

My fingers paused. "Who?"

"Gavin's assistant. He said you sent him."

She turned the screen so I could see it.

My name was right there on the application form. The signature was shaky, almost like someone had traced my old autograph from years ago.

My gaze locked onto that line of text.

Any lingering warmth in my heart evaporated.

"Did he get it?" I asked.

"No," Callie said. "You left a strict note back then. We won't retrieve your files unless you come in person with official identification."

She paused.

"Daisy, do you want to file a statement disputing the signature?" Callie asked.

"Yeah," I said.

I handed her my identification.

"And notarize the retrieval of the sealed documents, plus proof of today's inquiry record. All at once," I added.

Callie nodded and headed to the archives.

Just before she pushed open the door, she glanced back at me and said, "A person can be laid-back, but paperwork never should be."

I almost burst out laughing.

She was right.

The most diligent thing I had ever done in my life was seal every critical document properly.

Half an hour later, a thick stack of documents was laid out in front of me.

The first one was the founding agreement from eighteen years ago.

It stated: [Founding capital contribution: Daisy Wilkes, 200 thousand dollars, 70 percent equity. Gavin Wilkes, 100 thousand dollars, 30 percent equity.]

After a few rounds of funding, my stake ended up dropping to 38%.

But I was still the biggest shareholder.

The second document was the voting rights delegation agreement.

The person I delegated to was Gavin.

The term was indefinite, and I could revoke it in writing at any time.

The third document was the supplementary agreement with special clauses.

It read: [Any disposition of equity under Daisy Wilkes's name is invalid without her written confirmation in person.]

It was all spelled out in black and white, with the notary seal stamped right there.

I took photos and sent them to Holly.

Holly replied: [We're good. If they try to force you to sign at the party, we'll make them crash and burn in front of everyone.]

I gathered up the documents and stepped out of the notary office.

My phone buzzed.

It was Erica Shaw, the company's board secretary.

Erica was usually calm, but today her voice was tight with nerves.

"Daisy, are you free to come to the office today?" she asked.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

There was a brief pause on the other end.

"Mr. Wilkes called an impromptu internal meeting. It's about your position as a shareholder and your seat on the board," Erica said.

I glanced up at the notary office sign.

That was fast.

Chapter 3

The next morning at nine, I arrived at the notary office on the east side of the city.

The building was old, but the exterior had been freshly painted, and the old sycamore tree by the entrance was still there.

Eighteen years earlier, I had signed the Special Agreement on Founding Equity and Voting Rights right there.

But my mom had worked in finance before she passed.

She had told me only one thing before she died.

"Let others earn you the money, but never let anyone else control the company seal," she told me.

That was why the proxy agreement was perfectly clear.

I reserved the right to revoke the operational authority at any time.

Any major changes to equity, asset disposal, or shifts in control had to be confirmed in writing by me.

Otherwise, they wouldn't count.

Callie recognized me at the counter.

She pulled up the computer system, took off her reading glasses, and then put them back on.

"Daisy? From Daisy Biologics?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied.

She glanced at me. "I saw your company go public on the news the other day. Congrats."

I smiled. "Thanks. Could you pull up the sealed file from eighteen years ago?"

Callie tapped a few keys on her keyboard.

Then she suddenly stopped.

Her friendliness faded away.

"Someone came by yesterday to request this file," Callie said.

My fingers paused. "Who?"

"Gavin's assistant. He said you sent him."

She turned the screen so I could see it.

My name was right there on the application form. The signature was shaky, almost like someone had traced my old autograph from years ago.

My gaze locked onto that line of text.

Any lingering warmth in my heart evaporated.

"Did he get it?" I asked.

"No," Callie said. "You left a strict note back then. We won't retrieve your files unless you come in person with official identification."

She paused.

"Daisy, do you want to file a statement disputing the signature?" Callie asked.

"Yeah," I said.

I handed her my identification.

"And notarize the retrieval of the sealed documents, plus proof of today's inquiry record. All at once," I added.

Callie nodded and headed to the archives.

Just before she pushed open the door, she glanced back at me and said, "A person can be laid-back, but paperwork never should be."

I almost burst out laughing.

She was right.

The most diligent thing I had ever done in my life was seal every critical document properly.

Half an hour later, a thick stack of documents was laid out in front of me.

The first one was the founding agreement from eighteen years ago.

It stated: [Founding capital contribution: Daisy Wilkes, 200 thousand dollars, 70 percent equity. Gavin Wilkes, 100 thousand dollars, 30 percent equity.]

After a few rounds of funding, my stake ended up dropping to 38%.

But I was still the biggest shareholder.

The second document was the voting rights delegation agreement.

The person I delegated to was Gavin.

The term was indefinite, and I could revoke it in writing at any time.

The third document was the supplementary agreement with special clauses.

It read: [Any disposition of equity under Daisy Wilkes's name is invalid without her written confirmation in person.]

It was all spelled out in black and white, with the notary seal stamped right there.

I took photos and sent them to Holly.

Holly replied: [We're good. If they try to force you to sign at the party, we'll make them crash and burn in front of everyone.]

I gathered up the documents and stepped out of the notary office.

My phone buzzed.

It was Erica Shaw, the company's board secretary.

Erica was usually calm, but today her voice was tight with nerves.

"Daisy, are you free to come to the office today?" she asked.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

There was a brief pause on the other end.

"Mr. Wilkes called an impromptu internal meeting. It's about your position as a shareholder and your seat on the board," Erica said.

I glanced up at the notary office sign.

That was fast.