Chapter 4 - The Missing Men Connected the Lake Villa to a Much Darker Secret
The body in the photograph belonged to Samuel Price.
Richard's former business partner.
He had disappeared eleven months before Richard was declared dead.
Samuel had been investigating Vance Capital's land acquisitions.
Not the public ones.
The hidden ones.
He believed several development deals were connected to fraudulent insurance claims.
Properties had been damaged.
Owners had been pressured.
Then mysteriously compensated by shell companies.
The pattern always ended near Lake Norman.
My property was at the center.
We searched the archives.
There was a hidden map.
Three properties.
The church.
The widow's land.
My villa.
Together, they formed a single waterfront tract.
The development project Luca had wanted was not merely luxury housing.
It was a private marina, casino, hotel, and financial complex.
The project had been rejected because of environmental restrictions.
Unless the land was secretly transferred to a holding company.
Then the restrictions could be challenged.
The plan was enormous.
And illegal.
Luca had known some of it.
Rachel had known more.
But there was someone above both of them.
A company called Northstar Holdings.
Its owner was anonymous.
Richard looked at the paperwork.
“This is bigger than Luca.”
“Who owns Northstar?”
“That's what we need to find out.”
We traced the money.
It led through six countries.
Then back to Chicago.
Then to a private law firm.
And finally to a name.
Victor Sterling.
I recognized it.
Everyone in real estate did.
He was one of the wealthiest private investors in the country.
A man who had never appeared publicly alongside Vance Capital.
Yet he had financed some of Luca's earliest projects.
I confronted Luca.
“You know Victor.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He was an investor.”
“Was?”
Luca hesitated.
“He pulled out three years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because I refused to let him take control.”
Richard laughed.
“So you fought a giant and thought you won.”
Luca looked away.
“You didn't know?”
I asked.
“Know what?”
“Victor never left.”
We tracked him to an estate outside Charlotte.
He invited us inside.
He was charming.
Polite.
Soft-spoken.
That made him worse.
“Jessi,” he said.
“I know who you are.”
“Most people think they do.”
“You financed my husband's company.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because Luca had talent.”
“He also had debts.”
“Yes.”
“Debts to you?”
Victor smiled.
“Everyone owes someone.”
He offered tea.
I refused.
Richard stood beside me.
Victor looked at him.
“So the dead man returns.”
“Your people tried to kill me.”
Victor's expression didn't change.
“I don't employ killers.”
“You employ companies that employ killers.”
A faint smile.
“Interesting distinction.”
I placed the financial records on his desk.
“You have an illegal development plan.”
Victor looked at the documents.
Then he looked at me.
“I have a business plan.”
“On land you don't own.”
“I would acquire it.”
“By stealing it?”
“No.”
He leaned back.
“By persuading the owners.”
“You tried to persuade me with my husband's mistress.”
Victor smiled.
“Your husband was useful.”
“For what?”
“To create pressure.”
I stared at him.
“Why me?”
“Because you designed the properties.”
That surprised me.
“You knew my work.”
“I know all valuable talent.”
“You needed my signature.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandmother left you more than property.”
He opened a drawer.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
My grandmother's name was on it.
I took one step forward.
Victor said,
“Your grandmother and I made an agreement twenty-five years ago.”
I froze.
“My grandmother knew you?”
“Yes.”
“What agreement?”
“You'll need to ask her.”
“She died.”
Victor smiled.
“Did she?”
The room went cold.
I remembered the letter.
The trust.
The documents.
What if my grandmother had known this was coming?
What if she had prepared for it?
Victor continued.
“She left instructions.”
“For whom?”
“For you.”
Before I could ask more, the lights went out.
Glass shattered.
Gunfire erupted.
Richard pushed me behind the desk.
Victor's guards responded.
The room became chaos.
Someone had tried to kill Victor.
Not us.
Him.
When the shooting stopped, Victor had disappeared.
On the floor was a dead attacker.
In his pocket was a card.
The same symbol that appeared on the Northstar paperwork.
A black compass.
Richard stared.
“That's not Victor.”
“Then who?”
May you like
He looked at me.
“Someone who's been waiting for the entire family to destroy itself.”
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