Chapter 9 - NICOLE WAS NOT THE MISTRESS I EXPECTED
I expected Nicole to be another woman.
That would have been simple.
Painful.
Predictable.
Instead, Nicole was a business partner.
More specifically, she was a real estate investor.
Brandon had met her two years earlier.
Together, they had created a small investment company without telling me.
The Palm Springs apartment was not romantic.
It was an office disguised as a residence because Brandon did not want me to discover what he was doing.
Evelyn found the company registration within twenty minutes.
B&R Property Ventures.
Brandon Reed and Nicole Barrett.
Fifty percent each.
I stared at the documents.
“What property do they own?”
Evelyn scrolled.
“One duplex.”
“That’s it?”
“Wait.”
She clicked again.
“And an option agreement on another house.”
My stomach tightened.
“Which house?”
Evelyn looked at me.
“Ours.”
I stopped breathing.
“What?”
Brandon had signed an agreement giving B&R Property Ventures the right to purchase our home at a fixed price if certain conditions were met.
The price was nearly two hundred thousand dollars below market value.
The condition depended on Brandon becoming sole owner.
Which explained the forged transfer.
Which explained the loan.
Which explained everything.
“They weren’t just borrowing against the house.”
Evelyn’s voice was quiet.
“They were positioning the company to acquire it.”
I stared at the screen.
“So Brandon would become sole owner.”
“Yes.”
“Then the company he owns half of would buy it cheaply.”
“Yes.”
“And they would use loan proceeds to renovate it.”
“Likely.”
“And Skylar and I would be gone.”
Evelyn did not answer.
She did not need to.
I called Nicole.
She answered cautiously.
“Hello?”
“My name is Charlotte Reed.”
Silence.
Then she exhaled.
“I was wondering when you would call.”
That surprised me.
“You knew about me?”
“Of course.”
“Did you know I still owned half the house?”
Long pause.
“Brandon told me you signed your interest over.”
“I did not.”
Another silence.
This one sounded different.
“That’s a serious problem.”
“For you too.”
“I understand.”
“Did you know he was using my identity?”
“No.”
“Did you know he was planning to refinance?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know the renovation budget included payments to his mother and sister?”
“No.”
I believed that answer more than the others.
Nicole sounded angry now.
“Send me proof.”
“Why?”
“Because if he forged anything, I’m terminating our agreement.”
I almost laughed.
“You think that solves it?”
“No.”
Her voice turned hard.
“I think it keeps me from becoming part of his crime.”
Before we ended the call, Nicole said something I did not expect.
“Charlotte.”
“What?”
“He told me you were irresponsible with money.”
I smiled bitterly.
“Of course he did.”
“He said he built everything and you spent without asking.”
I looked at the blocked cards.
The seafood receipt.
Gertrude’s luxury purchases.
Hailey’s payments.
“Nicole.”
“Yes?”
“Brandon has spent years telling everyone different versions of me.”
May you like
I looked toward the house.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to make him live with the real one.”
