Chapter 14 - The Property Transfer
Rachel pulled the county records online.
My grandmother’s property was still listed under my name.
For ten seconds, I felt relief.
Then she frowned.
“What?”
“There’s a pending document.”
David leaned closer.
“What kind?”
“A deed transfer.”
I stopped breathing.
“To whom?”
Rachel opened the filing.
The grantee was an LLC.
LMC Holdings.
I had never heard of it.
The transfer had not been finalized.
It was scheduled for processing within forty-eight hours.
David looked at me.
“Did you sign a deed?”
“No.”
He examined the signature image.
Again, it looked like mine.
Again, it was not mine.
Rachel searched the LLC.
Registered agent:
Westbridge Advisory.
Marcus Bennett.
The room went silent.
Daniel had not simply been preparing to destroy my credibility.
He had been preparing to take property worth nearly $900,000.
David called the county recorder immediately.
While he worked, Rachel kept digging.
She found the filing attorney.
Caleb Morton.
Robert’s company attorney.
I stared at the screen.
“He helped Daniel?”
“Possibly.”
“No.”
I remembered Caleb’s warning at the baptism.
Get Jennifer and the baby out of there.
“He knew.”
David ended his call.
“The filing is flagged.”
“It won’t transfer until this is investigated.”
I exhaled.
Then David’s phone rang.
Caleb.
He answered on speaker.
“Caleb.”
“I heard you stopped the deed.”
David looked at me.
“Yes.”
Caleb sighed.
“Good.”
I leaned toward the phone.
“You filed it.”
Silence.
“Jennifer.”
“You forged my signature?”
“No.”
“Your name is on the filing.”
“I submitted documents Daniel gave me.”
“Without checking with me?”
“He had a notarized authorization.”
“I never signed one.”
“I know that now.”
My anger sharpened.
“When did you know?”
Caleb paused.
“Three weeks ago.”
“Three weeks?”
“I began to suspect.”
“And you did nothing?”
“That’s not true.”
“What did you do?”
“I started making copies.”
Daniel had been collecting evidence against me.
Apparently Caleb had started collecting evidence against Daniel.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“Because I did not know how far it went.”
“How far what went?”
Caleb was quiet.
Then he said, “The property was only supposed to be collateral.”
“For what?”
“A loan.”
“How much?”
“Two million dollars.”
Nobody spoke.
I finally whispered, “Daniel does not have a two-million-dollar business.”
“No.”
Caleb’s voice became grim.
“But Marcus does.”
Rachel leaned closer.
“What business?”
Another pause.
Then Caleb answered.
“A private investment company Daniel planned to join after your divorce.”
I almost laughed.
“Using my building?”
“Yes.”
“And his father’s stolen money?”
“Yes.”
“What were they investing in?”
Caleb took a breath.
“That’s the part you are not going to like.”
I braced myself.
“They were buying distressed family assets.”
“What does that mean?”
“Homes.”
“Businesses.”
“Properties caught in divorces.”
He paused.
May you like
“And Daniel’s first target was yours.”
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