Chapter 11 - The Sale That Became a Trap
By nine that morning, Mason was seated inside Luxury Peak Realty, demanding that the sale proceed.
He did not know Luke had been found.
He did not know Nora had Caleb’s letter.
He did not know Evelyn had contacted the state attorney general’s office during the drive back from the cabin.
Most importantly, he did not know Adrian Lang had agreed to help them.
The final signing became a controlled trap.
Mason arrived wearing a new suit and carrying a bottle of champagne.
Emily sat beside him, scrolling through resort photographs on her phone.
The buyer was represented by a shell company called Ridgeway Development Partners.
Its attorney joined remotely and refused to identify the company’s principals.
Adrian placed the closing documents on the table.
“Before we proceed, I need confirmation regarding ownership.”
Mason leaned back.
“We already settled that.”
“No, you threatened to replace me if I continued asking questions.”
“I call that settling.”
Adrian opened the file.
Nora appeared on a large screen through a secure video call from Evelyn’s office.
She wore her Army uniform.
Mason laughed when he saw her.
“What are you going to do from Texas? March over here in your little uniform?”
Nora ignored the insult.
Adrian removed a photocopy of the survivorship deed.
“Mr. Reed, why is Nora Hayes listed as the surviving legal owner?”
Mason’s smile vanished.
“That document was stolen.”
“From where?”
“The cabin.”
“When did you first see it?”
“I never saw it.”
Adrian glanced at the hidden camera mounted behind the conference-room monitor.
“Then how do you know it was at the cabin?”
Mason realized the mistake.
Emily looked at him.
“Dad?”
He reached for the paper.
Adrian pulled it away.
“This sale never should have happened.”
Mason stood.
“You’re finished in this town.”
The door opened.
Evelyn entered with two private security officers.
“Sit down, Mr. Reed.”
Mason stared at Nora’s image.
“You think your father’s signature makes you powerful?”
“No,” Nora said. “It makes me the owner.”
Evelyn placed the phone containing a recorded call on the table.
Luke Mercer’s weak voice played through the speaker.
Mason brought the chest into the tunnel. He said the buyer would pay extra if the old records disappeared. I tried to stop him. Sheriff Cresswell hit me. Mason told them to keep me underground until the sale closed.
Emily’s face drained of color.
Mason lunged toward the phone.
Security restrained him.
“You can’t use that!”
Evelyn looked toward the glass wall.
“Why not explain that to the federal agents?”
Two investigators entered the office.
One carried a warrant.
The other carried photographs of financial transfers between Ridgeway Development Partners, Mason Reed and a company owned by Raymond Cresswell’s brother.
Mason stopped struggling.
The lead investigator spoke.
“Mason Reed, you are being detained in connection with interstate wire fraud, unlawful confinement, evidence tampering and conspiracy involving federally regulated mineral resources.”
Emily rose.
“I had nothing to do with this.”
The investigator looked at her.
“Your Hawaii reservation was paid from a transfer connected to the attempted property sale.”
Mason turned toward his daughter.
“Don’t say anything.”
She stared at him.
“You told me the money was yours.”
“It is.”
“No,” Nora said from the screen. “It was mine.”
Emily’s anger shifted.
Not toward Nora.
Toward her father.
“You promised this was clean.”
Mason’s expression became desperate.
“Emily, listen to me.”
She stepped away from him.
“You said the old man had no heirs.”
The room went silent.
Nora leaned toward the screen.
“What old man?”
Emily realized she had spoken too much.
Mason shouted.
“Stop talking!”
Evelyn faced her.
“Which old man?”
Emily looked at the federal agents, then at her father.
“He was at the storage warehouse.”
“What storage warehouse?” Nora asked.
May you like
Emily’s lips trembled.
“The place where Dad took the chest.”
