Chapter 5 - The Woman Behind the Birthday PartyThe next morning, I went to the county records office.
Daniel met me there.
We spent three hours examining documents.
Every suspicious transaction led back to the same group of people.
Richard Whitmore.
Karen Whitmore.
And a company called Whitmore Land Management.
Then Daniel found something.
“Jack.”
“What?”
“Look at this.”
He placed a document on the table.
It was a land survey.
My ranch was marked in red.
So was another property three miles away.
“What's this?”
“Your ranch isn't the target.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“The ranch is part of a larger development plan.”
He spread out several maps.
A proposed luxury resort.
Private golf course.
Waterfront villas.
Commercial center.
A road connecting everything.
My ranch sat directly in the middle.
“If they control this property,” Daniel explained, “they control the entire development.”
I understood.
The ranch wasn't valuable because of what it was.
It was valuable because of where it was.
“How much?”
Daniel looked at me.
“The development is projected at nearly four hundred million dollars.”
My jaw tightened.
“So someone wants my land.”
“Yes.”
“And Karen was sent here to create the appearance that she already owned it.”
“Exactly.”
I leaned back.
“Who funded this?”
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“We're still tracing it.”
Then my phone rang.
Karen.
I answered.
“Why are you calling me?”
Her voice trembled.
“I need to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“Andrew.”
I said nothing.
She inhaled.
“I knew him.”
“I know.”
“No. You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
She was quiet.
“He wasn't your enemy.”
“What?”
“He was trying to warn you.”
I stood.
“About what?”
“Your father.”
My stomach tightened.
“What about my father?”
“Andrew believed your father was involved with Richard.”
I didn't speak.
She continued.
“He thought they were working together.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I know.”
“Then why were you in the photograph with him?”
“Because I was helping him.”
“With what?”
“Finding proof.”
I closed my eyes.
“Karen, why did you come to my ranch?”
“I was told the property was legally transferred.”
“By whom?”
She hesitated.
“Andrew.”
“Andrew has been dead for twelve years.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you say he told you?”
“Because someone used his identity.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“But I need you to understand something.”
“What?”
“I didn't know the documents were fake.”
“You didn't check?”
“I trusted the people who gave them to me.”
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Your brother's old attorney.”
I froze.
“Name.”
“Michael Graves.”
Daniel, standing beside me, suddenly looked up.
He mouthed:
Impossible.
Michael Graves had been my father's attorney.
He had retired years ago.
Then died two years earlier.
Another dead man.
Another name.
Another impossible connection.
I looked at Daniel.
“This goes deeper.”
He nodded.
Karen whispered:
“Jack, there's something else.”
“What?”
“The party wasn't supposed to be the beginning.”
“What was it supposed to be?”
“The beginning of construction.”
I felt my blood freeze.
“When?”
“Monday.”
Today was Saturday.
I looked at Daniel.
“They planned to start construction on Monday.”
Daniel nodded.
“Then we have forty-eight hours.”
Karen's voice trembled.
“And Jack?”
“Yes?”
“I think someone knows I talked to you.”
The line went dead.
A second later, Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“Someone just accessed the county records system.”
“Who?”
“The request came from an internal terminal.”
“Whose?”
Daniel slowly lowered the phone.
“Your father's old law office.”
I stared at him.
“That office has been closed for years.”
“I know.”
Then we heard footsteps outside the records room.
Someone was approaching.
Daniel whispered:
“Don't move.”
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
I recognized him immediately.
May you like
And my heart stopped.
Because he looked exactly like my dead brother Andrew.
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