Chapter 10 - The Money Behind the Smile
At first, I assumed the two hundred forty thousand dollars was the price Marcus hoped to borrow against Alder Lane.
Leah shook her head.
“It's worse.
He appears to have already accepted an advance based on a promise that he could deliver the property.”
Marcus's trucking company had been failing for nearly a year.
A private lender had agreed to bridge the losses if Marcus produced acceptable collateral by Thursday afternoon.
He couldn't.
His own home was heavily mortgaged.
His savings had disappeared.
So he promised something he didn't own.
“They thought if they frightened me long enough, I'd sign before the lender checked,” I said.
“That's one possibility,” Leah answered.
“We're not assuming more than we can prove.”
I appreciated that.
Anger could turn facts into whatever story felt satisfying.
I wanted evidence that would survive daylight.
Then the security company sent the kitchen footage.
It showed Marcus sliding the seven-page proposal across my table.
Diane wiping away theatrical tears.
Marissa snatching the plate.
Tyler staring at her hand before she threw it.
We watched the plate strike my forehead.
I heard Nora inhale sharply.
“Pause there,” I said.
The camera had caught Tyler's face a fraction before the throw.
He had seen her draw back her arm.
He hadn't been too distracted to know what was happening.
He had simply failed to move.
I wanted to erase that second from my memory.
Instead, I asked Leah to preserve it.
She called the county recording office.
The forged transfer had been rejected for an irregular acknowledgment, but someone had requested expedited reconsideration.
The legitimate charitable trust deed was already recorded, yet the fraudulent paperwork could still cause a costly dispute.
“Thursday at four,” Leah said.
“They intend to present the corrected package to the lender.”
I checked the calendar.
It was Wednesday afternoon.
May you like
Then my phone lit up with a message from Marissa.
Sign tomorrow, or Tyler will tell everyone you're losing your mind.
