Chapter 18 - The Man at the Service Door
Graham was arrested two nights later, not on a yacht or across a border, but in the underground service garage of Nate's first hotel. An employee recognized him and called security, which alerted police.
Nate was there to check on Marta when the garage doors opened and officers surrounded Graham's rented car. Graham stepped out slowly, his expression furious and exhausted.
"You really think you've won?" he shouted when he saw Nate.
"I think those families still have their homes."
"I built your business. Your mother handed out checks and called it compassion while I did the math."
Nate took one step forward. Owen caught his arm.
"Your mother caught the fake invoices," Graham said. "She asked too many questions. I thought she'd let it go when she got sick."
For a moment Nate could see the old dining room, his mother at the table with a stack of envelopes and a cup of tea growing cold. She had been fighting for people even when her body was failing.
"She didn't let it go," Nate said.
Graham laughed without humor. "She couldn't stop me."
"She left records. Rachel found the residents. And the people you took money from stood up for themselves."
Officers led Graham away. The evidence against him would be tested in court; Nate understood there was no quick, cinematic shortcut to that process.
Later, Vega told Rachel that an outside forensic audit had traced substantial payments through Marsh Point and confirmed multiple invoices for work never performed. Tessa had cooperated, too, accepting responsibility for signing a document she had not read.
Nate drove home past the chapel where he'd been supposed to marry Sloane. The lights were off. A couple stood near the front steps, laughing over a bouquet as they planned their own wedding.
May you like
He felt no urge to warn them about love.
But when he reached his front door, a letter from Sloane waited on the mat.
