Edward released a heavy breath; he didn‘t know what to think. The mandate he held was dated a week before they left on that fantasy vacation. Gladys had gone ahead to jet off with him around the world but had sold the shares without telling him? It was so unlike her; a major issue they agreed on even before they traveled was to not keep secrets from each other.
“As a lawyer, do you think this could have been forged?”
“It certainly looks like her signature; it will be difficult to prove otherwise. Nothing seemed tampered with in the original. You know her writing better - what do you think?”
“She doesn‘t usually capitalize like it‘s been done in the company name, but everything else fits.”
“Maybe you need to see this too.”
Edward studied another piece of paper. It was email exchanged between Gladys and the brokerage account officer. One printout detailed the sharp upward swing of the share price of Bestman Group among other market news with a request to sell to which she had replied yes and thanks. The other asked after her travels and received a fuller reply.
“The officer used that to buttress why they‘d gone ahead with the sale; she knew about it. Again, I imagined if someone else schemed to have the shares sold, why would the money be transferred to her account? How many people know the number?”
“You‘re sure the money went into her account?”
“Yes, and is still there. I pulled some strings and got a bank printout of balances that included hers with a mini transaction statement.”
Edward extended his hand and accepted the new sheets of paper stapled together. A patch further down was highlighted and he saw the deposit of millions of naira on the said date..
“Do you know who these withdrawals went to?” Benibo shook his head. They remained silent for a few minutes before Edward spoke again. “You warned me.”