Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Behind the Betrayal
Kira learned about Gavin at 9:06 the next morning.
Sarah called while Kira was sitting at her grandfather's kitchen table.
Arthur was upstairs resting.
Neither of them had slept much.
“Kira, are you alone?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I need you to listen carefully.”
Kira put down her coffee.
“What's happened?”
“Gavin Pierce is being investigated.”
Kira frowned.
“Gavin?”
“Financial fraud. Unauthorized access. Possible conspiracy.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“I know.”
“Gavin warned Blake about Riley.”
“He did.”
“He tried to stop the dance.”
“I know that too.”
Kira stood and walked toward the window.
Outside, the garden was covered in morning mist.
“What are you telling me?”
“I'm telling you the investigation has become more complicated.”
Sarah explained that investigators had discovered suspicious access records linked to both Gavin and Riley.
The two had met privately several times.
Financial documents had passed through accounts connected to Gavin's real estate consulting firm.
And someone had attempted to acquire a controlling interest in a development project involving Arthur's former company.
Kira's stomach tightened.
“Which project?”
Sarah hesitated.
“The Harbor Point redevelopment.”
Kira went still.
Harbor Point.
She knew the name.
A waterfront redevelopment project in Jersey City.
Luxury residential towers.
Commercial space.
A public promenade.
And a historic warehouse scheduled for preservation.
Kira's architecture firm had submitted a proposal six months earlier.
Her team had won the design contract.
“Sarah.”
“What?”
“I'm the lead architect.”
Silence.
Then Sarah said, “That's why I called.”
Kira gripped the phone.
“Are you saying someone targeted my project?”
“Possibly.”
Kira looked toward the staircase.
Arthur had once mentioned that Lawson Structural Group owned a minority interest in land near the waterfront.
At the time, she hadn't connected it to Harbor Point.
Now the pieces were beginning to fit.
Someone wanted control of the development.
Someone had used Riley's fraudulent identity.
Someone had accessed Blake's office.
And Gavin, a commercial real estate adviser, had been involved.
But one question remained.
Why stage a public humiliation at her wedding?
Kira asked Sarah.
“I don't know yet,” Sarah admitted.
“Find out.”
After the call, Kira went upstairs.
Arthur was sitting in his bedroom, reading an old engineering journal.
She closed the door.
“Grandpa, what is Harbor Point?”
His expression changed.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“I'm designing it.”
Arthur lowered the journal.
For several seconds, he stared at her.
Then he whispered, “Of course you are.”
Kira felt a chill.
“What does that mean?”
Arthur gestured toward the chair beside his bed.
“Sit down.”
She remained standing.
“Please tell me.”
Arthur looked toward the window.
“Harbor Point was the last project Martin Parker and I worked on together.”
Kira's heart accelerated.
“He stole money from it?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Enough to destroy the company.”
“Then why is the project still moving forward?”
“Because the land remained valuable. Investors bought the debt. New developers came in. The property changed hands several times.”
Arthur paused.
“But one parcel was never sold.”
Kira stared.
“Which parcel?”
“The warehouse.”
Kira felt the blood drain from her face.
The historic warehouse was the centerpiece of her design.
She had fought to preserve it when the developer wanted demolition.
Its original steel structure had fascinated her.
She had spent months researching its history.
“Who owns it?”
Arthur looked at her.
“You do.”
Kira stared.
“What?”
“I transferred it into a trust for you when you turned twenty-one.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I wanted you to choose your own career without feeling obligated to protect my legacy.”
Kira shook her head.
“That doesn't make sense. The developer's title report listed the property under Lawson Heritage Trust.”
“Yes.”
“And I never knew I was the beneficiary?”
“You were informed through the trust administrator. I should have made sure you understood.”
Kira sat down.
The room felt suddenly too small.
“How much is it worth?”
Arthur hesitated.
“Before the redevelopment, perhaps six million.”
“And now?”
He looked away.
“Depending on approvals, significantly more.”
“How much more?”
“Thirty to forty million.”
Kira stopped breathing.
The warehouse wasn't merely sentimental.
It was the last privately controlled parcel necessary to complete the entire waterfront project.
Without it, the developer couldn't build the planned public promenade or satisfy several financing conditions.
Kira understood immediately.
“Someone needs my signature.”
Arthur nodded.
“And marriage could have given Blake indirect influence over decisions involving the trust, depending on the documents and authority you granted.”
Kira thought of the property agreement.
The forged amendment.
Riley's fake identity.
The wedding.
Her chest tightened.
“Did someone want Blake to marry me?”
Arthur's silence was answer enough.
Kira stood.
“Grandpa.”
“I don't know.”
“Did you suspect something?”
“I suspected Martin's old associates were trying to regain control.”
“Why didn't you warn me?”
“Because I had no proof.”
Kira stepped backward.
Her grandfather had kept secrets.
Blake had kept secrets.
Riley had built an entire identity around secrets.
And Gavin, the one person who seemed to understand what was happening, might have been part of the scheme.
Her phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
A man spoke quietly.
“Kira Lawson?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Gavin Pierce.”
Kira froze.
“Why are you calling me?”
“Because you're in danger.”
She almost laughed.
“That's convenient.”
“I know what the police think.”
“Then you should talk to them.”
“I have.”
“Goodbye, Gavin.”
“Wait.”
Something in his voice stopped her.
“Ask your grandfather what happened on October seventeenth, fourteen years ago.”
Kira looked toward Arthur.
His face had gone white.
Gavin continued.
“Ask him why Martin Parker's car crashed.”
Kira's hand tightened around the phone.
“What are you saying?”
Gavin took a breath.
“I'm saying Riley's parents didn't die in an ordinary accident.”
Arthur stood abruptly.
His cane struck the floor.
“Hang up,” he whispered.
Kira stared at him.
Gavin's voice lowered.
“And if Arthur tells you he doesn't know who was driving the second car, he's lying.”
The call ended.
Kira slowly lowered the phone.
Her grandfather looked twenty years older.
“Grandpa?”
May you like
Arthur closed his eyes.
Then he whispered, “I was there.”
