Chapter 6 - Thomas’s Unfinished Warning
Claire read Thomas’s letter until every word seemed carved into the paper.
There was an investigation.
Not a debt.
Not a promise.
An investigation.
Daniel examined the edges of the page.
“The second sheet was removed recently.”
“Raymond photographed it before taking it.”
“Or he already knew what it said and came to make sure you would not find it.”
Detective Hale dusted the metal box and folder for prints. Raymond’s fingerprints were present, along with older prints belonging to Thomas and Claire.
A fourth set remained unidentified.
Hale photographed the letter.
“What kind of investigation was Thomas conducting?”
Claire searched her memories of his final year. Thomas had become distracted during the months before his illness worsened. He spent long evenings reviewing documents in the study. When she asked about them, he said he was helping someone with a property dispute.
She had assumed it was routine legal paperwork related to the foundation.
“What did Raymond do for work before he claimed his company failed?” Hale asked.
“Property consulting. He helped families resolve inherited real estate issues.”
“What kind of families?”
“Usually elderly owners or relatives after someone died.”
Hale’s expression changed.
“People with complicated titles.”
Claire understood.
“People whose signatures might be difficult to verify.”
Hale requested historic records connected to Vale Strategic Holdings.
The company had appeared in at least eleven property disputes over eight years. In most cases, Raymond claimed to represent a forgotten heir, a private lender, or a family member entitled to payment.
Several disputes ended in confidential settlements.
Two elderly homeowners sold properties soon afterward.
One died before giving a formal statement.
“This may be larger than your house,” Hale said.
Nathan Crowe had worked at a title company during the earliest cases. His skills could have allowed Raymond to create convincing documents, while Gloria and Lauren supplied personal information gathered through social connections, temporary employment, or direct contact with targets.
Thomas may have discovered the pattern.
Claire searched his remaining boxes stored at her apartment. Inside an old engineering portfolio, she found property diagrams, names, and handwritten dates.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Eleanor Price.
Claire remembered Eleanor as a friend of Thomas’s grandmother. She had lived alone in a historic house near the river.
Public records showed Eleanor sold that house six years earlier to Vale Strategic Holdings for less than half its estimated value.
She died three months later.
Claire contacted Eleanor’s nephew, Michael Price.
Michael agreed to meet at Daniel’s office.
“My aunt never wanted to sell,” he said. “Then Raymond appeared with documents claiming she owed money to a distant relative. She became terrified.”
“Did you challenge the documents?”
“I tried. She told me to stay away. She said someone knew private things about our family.”
“Did Nathan Crowe’s name appear?”
“I don’t remember.”
Michael opened a worn envelope and removed a photograph.
“My aunt gave me this before she died. She told me not to show anyone unless the same people came after another family.”
The photograph showed Raymond and Nathan standing outside Eleanor’s house.
Behind them was Gloria.
Lauren appeared in the passenger seat of a parked car.
Michael turned the photograph over.
Eleanor had written a date and one sentence.
They already had my signature before I met them.
Detective Hale added the photograph to the case.
“Thomas may have been helping Eleanor,” Claire said.
“Or investigating what happened after her property was taken.”
Michael nodded.
“Thomas called me once. He asked whether my aunt kept copies of the documents. I told him everything disappeared after her death.”
Claire looked at Thomas’s unfinished letter.
“What did Raymond mean by the Willowmere settlement?”
Michael answered slowly.
“My aunt’s house was on Willowmere Avenue.”
Claire stared at him.
Not Willowmere Road.
Willowmere Avenue.
The false $400,000 statement may have been designed to confuse two separate properties and transform Thomas’s investigation into a supposed family debt.
Hale searched Thomas’s notes again.
A number appeared beside Eleanor’s name.
400,000.
“That was the value Raymond may have taken from her,” Claire said.
“Or the amount Thomas believed was moved through the scheme,” Hale replied.
The following morning, police searched Nathan Crowe’s registered office.
It was empty except for a desk, a laminating machine, and dozens of blue folders.
Most had been burned from the inside, as if someone placed a chemical strip between the pages and activated it remotely.
One folder survived.
Its label read Bennett, Claire.
Inside was a schedule of Claire’s movements, copies of her identification, a floor plan of her apartment, and photographs taken through her windows.
The final page listed three stages.
Stage 1: Establish debt.
Stage 2: Obtain voluntary transfer.
Stage 3: Transport and verification.
Beside the third stage was the address of a bank branch forty miles outside the city.
Claire looked at Hale.
“They planned to take me there.”
Hale turned the page.
May you like
A handwritten note appeared at the bottom.
Use family pressure first. Restraints only if necessary.
