Chapter 3 - THE FAMILY DISCOUNT WAS A CRIME SCENE
Nathan arrived forty-five minutes later.
Unlike Lucas, he didn’t come angry.
He came scared.
That interested me.
He stood near the hostess station wearing jeans and a gray hoodie.
“What’s going on?”
Lucas immediately moved toward him.
“Don’t say anything.”
Nathan stopped.
His face changed.
That was the moment I knew he had something to say.
I looked at Gavin.
“Office.”
We moved into my back office.
Beatrice tried to follow.
“No.”
She stared at me.
“I am his mother.”
“And today that seems to be part of the problem.”
The door closed in her face.
Nathan sat down.
I placed the vendor report in front of him.
“Benton Food Logistics.”
His eyes dropped.
“How much did Lucas pay you?”
Nothing.
“How much?”
“Camilla…”
“Did you actually provide anything to Lumina?”
“No.”
There it was.
Lucas swore.
Nathan looked at him.
“You told me she knew.”
I turned slowly.
“What did he tell you I knew?”
Nathan rubbed both hands over his face.
“That you were using the company to move money around for taxes.”
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because the lie was exactly complicated enough to fool someone who wanted to be fooled.
“You thought I paid your shell company for fake supplies to save taxes?”
Nathan whispered, “Lucas said everybody does it.”
“No. Everybody does not commit accounting fraud.”
Lucas stood.
“This is ridiculous. Nathan, leave.”
Nathan didn’t move.
I looked at him.
“How much money?”
“About ninety grand.”
“Where is it?”
His eyes filled with panic.
“I gave most of it back.”
“To whom?”
“Lucas.”
“How?”
“Cash.”
Lucas stepped toward him.
“You idiot.”
Gavin stood between them.
Not threatening.
Just present.
Nathan continued.
“Lucas said he needed money that didn’t show up in the family accounts.”
“For Sophia?”
“I didn’t know about Sophia.”
“Then what?”
His answer took too long.
I leaned closer.
“Nathan.”
“He owed somebody.”
Lucas went completely still.
“Who?”
Nathan looked at his brother.
“Tell her.”
“Shut up.”
“Tell me what?”
Nathan swallowed.
“Sports betting.”
I sat back.
That one I had not expected.
“How much?”
“At first? Maybe fifty thousand.”
“And now?”
Nathan stared at the floor.
“Closer to six hundred.”
Beatrice screamed from outside the office.
“What?”
The walls were apparently thinner than I remembered.
Lucas opened the door.
His mother pushed inside.
“Six hundred thousand dollars?”
“Mom.”
“You told me it was temporary!”
There it was.
Another confession.
I looked at her.
“You knew too.”
Beatrice went silent.
Lucas cursed.
She looked between us.
“I knew he had some debts.”
“How much?”
“Not that much.”
“How much did you help him cover?”
Her lips pressed together.
Gavin answered for her.
“Westmere Hospitality billed Lumina $142,000.”
Beatrice sank into a chair.
The family system was becoming clear.
Fake invoices.
Cash returned to Lucas.
Some for the affair.
Some for gambling.
Some for the new restaurant.
My kitchen had been feeding customers so Lucas could feed debts.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I asked Nathan one more question.
“Who does Lucas owe?”
His eyes met mine.
“A guy named Reece Calder.”
I didn’t recognize it.
Gavin did.
He looked alarmed.
“What?”
“Reece owns Calder Restaurant Group.”
That name I knew.
Everyone in San Diego hospitality knew it.
Calder Group had spent two years buying independent restaurants along the coast.
Aggressively.
I looked at Lucas.
“Your gambling creditor owns the company trying to buy restaurants like mine?”
Lucas said nothing.
Nathan’s voice dropped.
“Camilla, it’s worse.”
Of course it was.
“Reece told Lucas he would forgive part of the debt if Lucas delivered something.”
“What?”
Nathan looked at me.
“Lumina.”
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My husband had not simply been building a competing restaurant.
He was preparing to hand mine to the man he owed money.
