Chapter 6 - Blue Cedar
Margaret wasn’t arrested.
Not that night.
The officers interviewed her, photographed Vanessa’s complaint, and explained that the playground footage would be reviewed.
Margaret did not deny the slaps.
“That woman threw my granddaughter down.”
One officer replied patiently, “I understand why you were angry.”
“Then you understand why I hit her.”
“No, ma’am. I understand why you were angry.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
Margaret had always been terrible at recognizing the difference between explanation and justification.
By morning, Claire had arranged for a criminal-defense attorney to advise her.
Rachel had a different target.
Blue Cedar Holdings.
She sat at her dining table with three monitors.
For eleven years, Rachel had worked in forensic accounting, mostly tracing money through corporate restructurings, shareholder disputes, and internal fraud cases.
Daniel used to joke that she could find a missing dollar in a hurricane.
Rachel no longer found the joke amusing.
Blue Cedar Holdings LLC had been formed nineteen months earlier in Delaware.
Its registered agent revealed nothing.
But property records showed it had purchased eight Bellwether villas.
Two more were held by separate LLCs with identical mailing addresses.
Rachel traced the address.
A private office suite in Greenwich.
Then another company.
Juniper Ridge Capital.
Then an investment partnership.
KUP Opportunity Fund IV.
Kane Urban Properties.
Rachel leaned back.
“Found you.”
She kept digging.
Blue Cedar wasn’t wholly owned by Kane Urban.
A minority membership interest was held by something called Mercer Advisory Group LLC.
Rachel stopped breathing.
She searched.
Mercer Advisory Group had been created fourteen months ago.
Manager:
Daniel Mercer.
Rachel stared at the screen.
A sound behind her made her turn.
Daniel stood in the doorway.
“How long have you been there?”
“Long enough.”
His face was pale.
Rachel rotated the monitor toward him.
“Mercer Advisory Group.”
He didn’t react.
That told her everything.
“How much?”
“Rachel.”
“How much money did Adrian give you?”
Daniel closed the door.
“Not in front of Lily.”
“She’s with Claire.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You brought Claire into our house?”
“I brought my attorney into my house.”
“Your attorney?”
“Yes.”
Daniel laughed once.
“This is where we are now?”
“You tell me.”
He loosened his tie.
“Mercer Advisory is legitimate.”
“What does it do?”
“Consulting.”
“For one client?”
“Several.”
“Name two.”
He said nothing.
Rachel tapped the screen.
“You own part of the company acquiring Bellwether.”
“A small carried interest.”
“You never told me.”
“It was an investment.”
“With Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“The man trying to force me out of my house.”
“That wasn’t the plan when it started.”
“What was?”
Daniel sat.
“Redevelopment.”
“Without my consent?”
“We thought the covenant was unenforceable.”
“We?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Rachel stared.
“You’ve been their lawyer.”
“No.”
“You’ve been advising them.”
“Informally.”
“You authorized Ellis Crane.”
“I authorized a property inspection.”
“Stop lying.”
Daniel looked at her.
She had never spoken to him like that before.
He seemed almost wounded.
That angered her more.
“Did you know he was going into my study?”
“No.”
“Did you know Adrian wanted Dad’s documents?”
Daniel remained silent.
Rachel whispered, “You did.”
“I knew Samuel kept records.”
“Of what?”
“Old transactions.”
“What transactions?”
“Ask Margaret.”
“Vanessa said the same thing.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“She came here?”
“Last night.”
“Why?”
“To tell me you’re helping Adrian.”
Daniel stood.
“She’s manipulating you.”
“So are you.”
“She wants leverage in her marriage.”
“How do you know?”
Daniel caught himself.
Rachel saw it.
“How do you know what Vanessa wants?”
“Everyone knows their marriage is bad.”
“No. You know details.”
Daniel rubbed his jaw.
“This is pointless.”
Rachel stepped between him and the door.
“Did you forge my signature?”
“No.”
“Did Adrian?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to stop treating every unanswered question like proof of conspiracy.”
Rachel laughed.
“My husband secretly owns part of the company trying to acquire my neighborhood.”
“Not secretly.”
“When did you tell me?”
He said nothing.
“That’s what secretly means.”
Daniel looked down.
For the first time, his control cracked.
“I was trying to fix something.”
Rachel stared.
“What?”
He walked to the window.
“A financial problem.”
“What problem?”
“A bad investment.”
“How bad?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
“How bad?”
“Four hundred and eighty thousand.”
Rachel felt cold.
“Dollars?”
Daniel almost smiled.
“No, Rachel. Bananas.”
She stared until the smile disappeared.
“Where did you get four hundred and eighty thousand dollars to lose?”
“Our brokerage account.”
“We didn’t have that much.”
“I used margin.”
Rachel stopped breathing.
“You borrowed against our investments?”
“I thought the position would recover.”
“What position?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“It was a private fund.”
“You put our money into a private fund on margin?”
“I was introduced through a client.”
Rachel sat slowly.
Their investment account held money meant for Lily’s future, home repairs, retirement.
“How much is left?”
Daniel looked away.
“Daniel.”
“About ninety thousand.”
Rachel’s eyes filled.
They had held more than six hundred thousand eighteen months ago.
“You lost half a million dollars and didn’t tell me.”
“I was replacing it.”
“With Adrian’s money.”
“With business.”
“By helping him take my property.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
Rachel’s voice broke.
“Then what was it supposed to be?”
Daniel slammed his palm against the table.
“Enough!”
Silence.
He stared at his own hand as if surprised.
Rachel stood.
He lowered his voice.
“I’m sorry.”
She stepped back.
Daniel looked exhausted.
“Adrian offered me participation in the project. If it closed, we would recover everything.”
“If I sold.”
“If the redevelopment happened.”
“Which requires me to sell.”
“Yes.”
Rachel nodded slowly.
At least one lie was finally dead.
Her phone rang.
Margaret.
Rachel almost ignored it.
Then she answered.
Her mother sounded breathless.
“I found something.”
“What?”
“A photocopy.”
“Of the green folder?”
“One page.”
Rachel stood straighter.
Margaret continued.
“There’s a payment list.”
“What kind of payments?”
“Cash. Consulting. Political donations. All from the original Bellwether partnership.”
Rachel looked at Daniel.
His face changed.
Margaret said, “Your father’s initials are beside three of them.”
Rachel couldn’t speak.
Daniel whispered, “Now you understand.”
Rachel pressed the phone closer.
Margaret’s voice broke.
“And beside the largest payment is another name.”
“Whose?”
May you like
Margaret was silent for a moment.
Then she said, “Adrian Kane’s father.”
