Chapter 8 - HOWARD’S FIRST LIE
Howard claimed he had never signed the Hawthorne agreement.
Naomi examined the document.
“The signature appears genuine.”
“It isn’t.”
“Are you certain?”
“I would remember giving Franklin forty percent of a future development.”
Loretta watched him carefully.
“You said the old deal involved an apartment complex.”
“It did.”
“Was it on Hawthorne land?”
Howard hesitated.
The truth emerged slowly.
The original project had been located on the same property where Brittany and Austin planned to marry. At the time, it was not a luxury estate. It was an abandoned hospital and several acres of unused land.
Howard and Franklin intended to convert the hospital into residential apartments.
The deal collapsed after the money disappeared.
Years later, another developer purchased the land and transformed it into the Hawthorne Estate.
Howard had never mentioned the connection.
“Why did you agree to hold the wedding there?” Loretta asked.
“I didn’t choose it.”
“But you knew what it was.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I thought the past was finished.”
Loretta laughed once without humor.
“The past is financing our son’s wedding.”
Howard looked at the forged agreement again.
“If L.M. Holdings can claim forty percent of a development on the land, Brittany’s wedding may be part of a legal strategy.”
Naomi agreed.
“Hosting a major family event there could help establish renewed involvement or acknowledgment between the Vale and Miller families. It might also be used to argue that Howard recognized the old agreement.”
“By paying for the estate,” Loretta said.
“Exactly.”
Howard stood.
“Cancel the venue.”
“The wedding is four weeks away,” Loretta said.
“I don’t care.”
“Brittany will know we discovered something.”
“She already knows we are suspicious.”
Naomi recommended a different approach.
“Let the wedding proceed, but revise every remaining contract. Howard should pay vendors directly without signing any document connected to the landowner.”
“And the apartment?” Loretta asked.
“We keep monitoring it.”
Howard turned toward her.
“No more going there alone.”
Loretta ignored the instruction.
“What about Alexander?”
“We find out whether he is working with Brittany or against her.”
That opportunity arrived sooner than expected.
Alexander contacted Loretta the next morning from a private number.
“Mrs. Miller, we need to meet.”
“You were inside the apartment.”
“I know.”
“You knew I was hiding in the study.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you expose me?”
“Because Brittany is not the only person lying to you.”
“Are you?”
Alexander was silent.
They agreed to meet at a public café near Naomi’s office.
Alexander arrived wearing a dark coat and carrying no bag.
He resembled Daniel even more in person.
Loretta felt an unexpected sadness as he sat across from her.
“You are Howard’s nephew.”
“My father believed Howard abandoned him.”
“Howard spent years searching.”
“That is not what my mother told me.”
“Where is Rebecca?”
Alexander looked down.
“She died five years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“She left me the safe-deposit key and told me to stay away from the Miller family until Franklin made contact.”
“When did he?”
“Six months ago. Two weeks before Brittany became engaged to Austin.”
Loretta absorbed that.
“The engagement was part of the plan.”
“Brittany had already been dating him. Franklin saw an opportunity.”
“What does he want?”
“The Hawthorne claim, the apartment, and access to Miller Urban Development.”
“Why the apartment?”
“It is not about its value.”
“Then what is it about?”
Alexander leaned closer.
“The apartment was built on land purchased by one of Howard’s companies. If ownership transfers through L.M. Holdings, Franklin can connect the old Hawthorne agreement to your current business network.”
“Could he claim part of Howard’s company?”
“Not legally.”
“But?”
“But with the right documents, he could freeze several projects while the courts decide. That could cost your family hundreds of millions.”
Loretta thought of Austin.
“Does my son know?”
“He knows about the apartment transfer.”
“Does he know about the larger plan?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why are you helping Brittany?”
Alexander looked toward the window.
“Because Franklin has the only surviving evidence of what happened to my father.”
“You believe Daniel is dead.”
“I believe Franklin knows.”
“What did Brittany promise you?”
“The truth.”
“And has she given it to you?”
“No.”
Loretta took out her phone.
“Then help me stop the transfer.”
Alexander’s expression changed.
“I can delay it, but not stop it.”
“Why?”
“Because Howard’s signature is no longer required.”
Loretta remembered the practice signatures on the scanner.
“They’re using mine.”
“Yes.”
“My signature alone cannot transfer trust property.”
“It can if Howard is declared temporarily incapable of managing the trust.”
Loretta stared at him.
“Declared by whom?”
Alexander slid a folded medical letter across the table.
The document claimed that Howard had suffered cognitive decline and authorized Loretta to act on his behalf.
At the bottom was the name of a respected neurologist.
May you like
Loretta recognized it.
The doctor was one of the wedding guests.
