Chapter 9 - Northstar
Gregory spent Friday morning behaving like a man without worries.
He chaired the weekly executive meeting.
He discussed leasing numbers.
He approved repairs at two apartment complexes.
He even joked with the regional managers.
Only one person noticed his right hand shaking.
Lena Cho.
Archer Properties’ controller had worked under Gregory for nine years.
After the meeting she entered his office.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“My brother-in-law died.”
Lena’s expression softened.
“Of course.”
Gregory turned toward the window.
“Has anyone accessed the Northstar files?”
Lena stopped.
“Not through me.”
“Through anyone.”
“I’d have to check.”
“Check.”
She did not move.
“Why?”
Gregory looked at her.
“Because I asked.”
Lena left.
Five minutes later Gregory locked his office and removed a second phone from the bottom drawer.
He typed one message.
SHE KNOWS THE NAME.
The reply came thirty seconds later.
HOW MUCH?
Gregory stared at the screen.
ENOUGH.
Another reply.
THEN FIX IT.
Gregory deleted the conversation.
At Margaret Sloan’s office, Nicole sat beside Daniel Shaw, Raymond’s newly retained attorney.
Raymond attended through an encrypted video call.
Margaret had forbidden him from appearing in person.
The second examination had revealed something immediate.
The dead man had undergone shoulder surgery six years earlier.
A surgical plate carried a serial number.
The manufacturer traced it to a hospital in Albany.
The patient name was Elias Vance.
Raymond closed his eyes when Margaret said it.
Nicole watched his face on the screen.
“So now what?” she asked.
“The medical examiner confirms through records,” Daniel said. “Then the death certificate will be challenged.”
“And Raymond?”
“He should surrender voluntarily.”
Raymond’s eyes opened.
“No.”
Daniel did not blink.
“That is not optional forever.”
“I need Elias’s backup.”
“Your legal situation improves if you stop acting like a fugitive.”
“I’m not charged with anything.”
“You are hiding after being declared dead while an unrelated body is being held under your name.”
“Which is why I need proof of who tried to kill me.”
Daniel leaned toward the screen.
“You are confusing two separate problems.”
“They aren’t separate to me.”
“They will be to a prosecutor.”
Nicole looked at Raymond.
“Come in.”
“No.”
“Emma is scared.”
His expression changed.
“She thinks telling the truth is why everyone is angry.”
“I never wanted that.”
“Intent doesn’t matter to a six-year-old.”
Raymond looked away.
Then Margaret’s assistant entered carrying a padded envelope.
“No return address.”
“For whom?”
“Mr. Archer.”
Everyone stared.
Margaret put on gloves before opening it.
Inside was a small black flash drive.
Daniel stood.
“Do not plug that into a networked computer.”
There was also a folded sheet of paper.
Margaret opened it.
Four handwritten words.
IF I DON’T CALL.
Below that was a password.
Raymond whispered, “Elias.”
Nicole felt goosebumps rise.
The drive was examined on an isolated laptop.
Inside were hundreds of files.
Bank records.
Internal emails.
Property appraisals.
Loan agreements.
And a folder titled NORTHSTAR.
Lena Cho’s name appeared repeatedly.
Nicole’s stomach dropped.
“Lena?”
Raymond shook his head.
“Keep reading.”
The records showed that Northstar Holdings had received money from Archer Properties.
Then transferred portions to three more entities.
One purchased a lake house in Vermont.
One bought securities.
The third paid consulting fees to a company called Hart Advisory Group.
Nicole stared.
“Gregory doesn’t have a consulting company.”
Margaret clicked the registration file.
Hart Advisory had been incorporated eleven years earlier.
Owner: Gregory Hart.
Nicole sat back.
“How much?”
Daniel calculated.
“About three point one million dollars directly.”
Nicole whispered, “Oh my God.”
Raymond’s voice came through the laptop.
“That’s not all.”
A spreadsheet listed Alder Ridge.
Projected purchase: $9 million.
Projected resale: $27.5 million.
Expected private gain after financing: $11.2 million.
Beside the calculation were three initials.
G.H.
C.S.
R.A.
Nicole stared.
“R.A.?”
Raymond went silent.
Margaret looked at him through the screen.
“Raymond?”
“I’ve never seen this.”
Nicole did not believe him immediately.
And Raymond knew it.
“That isn’t me.”
“Your initials are on it.”
“Someone put them there.”
Daniel spoke carefully.
“Do you have any ownership interest in Northstar?”
“No.”
“Have you ever received money from it?”
“No.”
“Did you know it existed before your investigation?”
“No.”
Nicole folded her arms.
“You expect me to trust that?”
Raymond looked wounded.
Then angry.
“I’m the one who hired Elias.”
“Maybe because somebody was stealing from your secret company.”
“Nicole.”
“No more automatic trust.”
Margaret nodded slightly.
“She’s right.”
Raymond stared at them.
Then Nicole noticed another folder.
FAMILY ARCHIVE.
She opened it.
Scanned documents appeared.
Some dated before Gregory even worked at Archer Properties.
The first bore their father’s signature.
Charles Archer.
The second showed a transfer to a company called Northstar Development Partners.
Dated fourteen years earlier.
Nicole looked at Raymond.
“You said Gregory created Northstar.”
Raymond stared at the screen.
For the first time since this began, he appeared truly shocked.
May you like
Because Northstar had existed before Gregory joined the company.
And their father had been using it first.
