Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 409 Passing Off a Fake as The Real Thing

“When I was still with Timothy, I’d always accompany him in the office because he was always busy with work. I was heartbroken to see him read and sign so many documents every day, so I learned to imitate his signature and helped him to sign many of his documents.”

Samantha’s eyes had a look of nostalgia when she recalled the past, “Timothy said he wasn’t able to tell whether he signed it or I did.” “That way, I can just ask a lawyer to prepare a power of attorney for me to sign.”

That could be done, but…

Rochelle pointed out the dangers of it. “You have to think twice, Sammy. Fooling them is one thing, getting discovered doing something illegal is another… You’ll be in a lot of trouble if you’re discovered.”

Samantha seemed rather calm. “Then tell me, Chelle… Is the trouble that I might encounter in the future more concerning or is it more important to destroy Harmony?”

Rochelle was speechless.

If she had to choose, she would choose the latter.

Although Harmony’s ability was nothing to shout about, her ability to disgust a person was truly first-rate. They might not be able to live with themselves if they did not end her once and for all!

“Okay, I’ll support you!” Rochelle held Samantha’s hand. “I’ll contact the board members and arrange a board meeting.”

“Alright.”

Samantha nodded and took out her cell phone to call Tony.

As soon as he answered the call, she immediately instructed, “Mr. Laycock, could you please help me to prepare a power of attorney?”

Tony was Madam Barker’s confidant and someone she could trust a hundred percent.

Two days later.

Inside the large conference room at the Barker Foundation, shareholders big and small all sat in their seats and whispered. After all, there had been a lot of news about Harmony’s arrest for corruption these days.

The door was pushed open, and Samanthawho was wearing a black business suit and exuded charm-walked in side by side with Rochelle.

Samantha had a sweet yet mature look while Rochelle was vivacious and radiant. When two beautiful women of different characters stood together, they made for an extremely eye-catching scene.

Had it not been for such a serious occasion, everyone would have wanted to appreciate the two beautiful women in front of them.

Samantha walked in on her high heels and sat calmly at the main seat.

Meanwhile, Rochelle sat at the first seat to Samantha’s left.

Everyone exchanged glances when they saw the situation.

There were no issues with Rochelle’s presence because she was a board member. On the other hand, Samantha had nothing to do with the Barker Foundation, yet she not only came but even sat right on the main seat!

What was going on?

Samantha glanced across the crowd before beginning her words slowly, “Hello everyone, I know that you’re all very confused about my presence here, so I’ll explain why I’m here!”

“I’m sure everyone is aware of the entire fiasco surrounding Harmony recently, so I’m here today with the authorization of my husband Timothy Barker to represent him. I have been given full authority to handle Harmony’s affairs!”

Her words caused a stir as soon as she finished her sentence.

Everyone was well aware of the ambiguity surrounding Timothy’s relationship with Harmony, and back then, the Barker Foundation only came to being because Timothy wanted to establish it for Harmony. Why then, did Timothy fail to come forward for Harmony when she was facing troubles, and even authorized his wife Samantha to deal with

it?

If Samantha handled it, then Harmony was never going to get a chance to escape! The situation did not look right regardless of which angle they viewed it from! During the past three years, the Barker Foundation had divided into two factions: the first supported Rochelle while the other supported Harmony.

Their incompatibility with each other had taken root after three years of infighting.

The shareholders of Harmony’s faction were naturally reluctant to see Harmony being punished like that because they shared a common interest: if Harmony was gone, they would have no place in the Barker Foundation either.

One of the board members, whose name was Randall Crane, interacted the most with Harmony and frequently received benefits from her. He was the first to stand up, and he asked coldly, “Mrs. Barker, as far as I know, Mr. Barker isn’t in Capital City this month and is on a business trip. You said that Mr. Barker authorized you to deal with this, but why should we believe your words when there is no basis for it?”

He was implying that Samantha was taking advantage of Timothy’s absence to deal with Harmony and use the situation to eradicate her love rival!

When he said that, the board members from Harmony’s faction agreed.

“That’s right, are we to believe that you represent Mr. Barker just because you say so? You have no proof!”

“Mrs. Barker, how about you call your husband and ask him right in front of us. We won’t have any say if it truly is Mr. Barker’s intention!”

The corners of Samantha’s lips twitched.

Rochelle had already explained to Samantha the possible scenarios that might happen in the conference room. She knew that Randall was not going to have any of it and her prediction came true! They were fortunate to have made preparations.

“My husband is on a business trip, so it’s inconvenient to disturb him. However, he has asked his lawyer to prepare a power of attorney!”

After Samantha said that, she raised her chin and gestured towards Rochelle’s assistant.

The assistant understood and stepped forward to display the power of attorney on the huge screen.

Samantha looked at Randall and said clearly, “This is a power of attorney signed by my husband Timothy and it has a legal effect!”

Everyone looked at the power of attorney on the big screen. The signature at the bottom of the signature section was, without a doubt, Timothy’s unique signature.

As soon as the power of attorney came out, some of the board members from Harmony’s faction immediately fell silent.

That was not the kind of document that could be taken out on a whim because forging it would amount to a severe crime.

Randall was unable to contact Timothy, which was why he felt that Samantha was faking it. It was therefore quite a surprise that Samantha managed to get a power of attorney. Could Timothy really have given up on Harmony? When he went to visit Harmony at the detention center the day before, Harmony swore to him and told him to stand firm because he would stand to benefit greatly when Timothy came back.

Randall frowned and weighed the situation. Which one of those women was telling the truth?

It took him about half a minute to make up his mind.

In any case, he still had to do his best to protect Harmony because Samantha’s victory brought him no benefits whatsoever. If he protected Harmony, then he might be the Barker Foundation’s second-in-command in the future!

According to Harmony, Timothy would never do such a thing. Therefore, the power of attorney must have been a mistake! A cold light flashed in Randall’s eyes and he straightened his back while saying to Samantha, “Mrs. Barker, I have doubts over this power of attorney because you were able to produce this even though we can’t get in touch with Mr. Barker!”

“If your conscience is clear, then I’d like to invite a handwriting identification expert here to make an identification of the signature on this power of attorney! It’s for everyone’s peace of mind.”

“If the result proves that the signature is Mr. Barker’s, we’ll give our unconditional support to all the decisions you make after that!”

Randall concluded very proudly by asking, “Do you agree, Mrs. Barker?”

Time to sit back and uncover Samantha’s lies!