Chapter 5 - THE SECRET BENEATH THE BAKERY
The building Nora inherited from her grandfather stood three blocks from the Charleston waterfront.
It was an old brick property with faded green shutters and a narrow courtyard.
On the ground floor was a closed bakery.
Upstairs were two apartments.
The building looked ordinary.
Charming, perhaps.
But nothing about it suggested a fortune.
Until Miles mentioned what lay beneath it.
That evening, Nora and I visited the property with her grandmother.
She unlocked the front door.
The air smelled of dust, old wood, and cinnamon.
Nora stopped in the doorway.
For a moment, her expression softened.
"Grandpa used to let me sleep on flour sacks when I was little."
I smiled.
"Comfortable?"
"Not remotely."
She laughed.
Then touched the old wooden counter.
"He made the best peach hand pies in South Carolina."
Margaret smiled sadly.
"He did."
We walked into the rear storage room.
Beneath a loose floorboard, Margaret revealed a metal box.
Inside were documents.
Property surveys.
Historic maps.
An old lease agreement.
And a letter from Nora's grandfather, William Bennett.
Nora opened it.
My darling Nora,
If you're reading this, someone has probably told you the building is worth more than a bakery.
They're right.
But don't let that make you forget why I kept it.
Her hands began trembling.
She continued.
The land includes historic access rights to the old harbor freight tunnel.
My pulse quickened.
The harbor tunnel.
I'd heard rumors about it.
Built more than a century earlier.
Closed after a flood.
Supposedly sealed forever.
But several modern developers believed portions could be restored for infrastructure access.
If the rights were valid, the property might be extraordinarily valuable.
Nora looked toward me.
"Is this why Miles wants the building?"
"Probably."
She swallowed.
"How much could it be worth?"
"That depends on title verification, engineering assessments, and legal approvals."
Margaret nodded.
"Your grandfather refused several offers."
"Why?"
Margaret's expression darkened.
"Because one of the bidders wasn't interested in the property."
Nora frowned.
"What was he interested in?"
"The records stored beneath it."
The room went quiet.
I looked toward the old staircase.
"Records?"
Margaret nodded.
"Your grandfather kept copies of financial documents there."
"What kind?" I asked.
She looked directly at me.
"Documents connected to the original Cole waterfront company."
My chest tightened.
My father's company.
Cole Marine Holdings.
The business that became the foundation of my empire.
Margaret continued.
"William Bennett believed someone stole ownership interests from the original investors."
I stared.
"Who?"
She hesitated.
Then whispered a name I hadn't heard spoken in years.
"Richard Harper."
May you like
Miles's father.
And suddenly, Nora's fake-boyfriend arrangement had become dangerously real.
