Chapter 8 - THE SECOND PLAN
I barely slept that night.
By morning, I'd decided that understanding the truth mattered more than punishing Eliam.
I called Rebecca Mills and arranged a meeting with a forensic accountant she trusted.
Then I asked Eliam to write down everything he knew about Daniel's proposal.
At first, he resisted.
He insisted that he'd already told me everything.
But when I mentioned the message on his phone, his expression changed.
Finally, he sat down and began writing.
Daniel had proposed creating a private investment company using funds borrowed against my inheritance.
The money would supposedly finance the purchase of a distressed commercial property.
Once the property was renovated and resold, the loan would be repaid.
The projected profit was substantial.
Too substantial.
The business plan depended on money that nobody had permission to borrow.
Worse, the proposed company would be controlled by Daniel and Vanessa.
Eliam's role was to serve as the personal guarantor.
My role, according to the paperwork, was to provide the assets.
Except I had never agreed to any of it.
The forensic accountant examined the documents and found something even more troubling.
The commercial property already had significant liens against it.
Its previous owner had filed for bankruptcy.
The purchase price had been inflated, and the financial projections appeared to conceal existing debts.
"If this transaction went through," the accountant explained, "the borrowed money could disappear into existing obligations before anyone saw a return."
"And my house?"
"It could become collateral for a loan that wasn't being used for its stated purpose."
Rebecca immediately contacted the lender's fraud department and submitted a formal dispute.
The application was frozen pending investigation.
For the first time in days, I felt a small measure of relief.
Then Eliam admitted that he'd received another document from Daniel.
It was a draft agreement proposing that Vanessa receive a percentage of any proceeds generated by the trust.
My sister had been promised money that didn't belong to her.
But when I studied the draft, I noticed a handwritten note in the margin.
It read:
Phase Two: obtain voting authority before the acquisition closes.
I looked at Rebecca.
"What does that mean?"
She examined the page.
"It suggests the loan wasn't their ultimate goal."
May you like
She tapped the words.
"They may be trying to gain control over something else."
