Chapter 8 - The Man Who Paid for the Wedding
Nathan Bell lived in a rented waterfront condominium that looked much more expensive than it was.
Everything inside was arranged to suggest success.
The artwork was professionally chosen. The furniture was immaculate. A bottle of rare whiskey stood unopened beneath a bright display light.
There were no family photographs.
Adrian noticed that immediately.
Nathan greeted him with a practiced smile.
“Adrian. Didn't expect you.”
“I called.”
“I was in a meeting.”
“Six times?”
Nathan spread his hands.
“Busy day.”
Adrian entered without waiting for an invitation.
Nathan shut the door.
“Look, if this is about Corinne, I'm sorry about what happened.”
Adrian turned.
“What happened?”
“The accident.”
“Who told you it was an accident?”
Nathan's expression slipped.
“That's what Corinne said.”
“And you believe her?”
“She's my sister.”
Adrian walked toward the windows.
A marina stretched below, filled with boats owned by people who likely never worried about grocery bills.
“Nice place.”
“Thanks.”
“How much is the rent?”
Nathan frowned.
“That's a strange question.”
“Thirty-five hundred? Five thousand?”
“Adrian—”
“Who pays it?”
Nathan's face hardened.
“If you've come here to insult me—”
“I've come to ask why your name appears on documents connected to an eighteen-million-dollar transaction involving my company.”
Nathan became very still.
Then he said, “You should talk to Graham.”
“I intend to.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because you knew Elise.”
Nathan looked genuinely startled.
“What?”
“My first wife. She was investigating your property deals.”
Nathan went pale.
For the first time, he looked less like a charming businessman and more like a tired man trying to remember which lies he'd told.
“Elise contacted me once,” he admitted.
“About what?”
“Some development records.”
“Which development?”
Nathan hesitated.
“South Harbor.”
Adrian knew it.
South Harbor was an aging marina district that Whitmore Marine Holdings had purchased twelve years earlier. After redevelopment, it became one of the company's most profitable properties.
“What was wrong with South Harbor?”
“Nothing you could prove.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Try answering the question.”
Nathan looked toward the door.
“Graham said Elise was asking questions she didn't understand.”
“She was a real estate attorney.”
“Yeah, well, she understood plenty.”
Nathan poured himself whiskey with unsteady hands.
“She figured out that several parcels had been acquired through intermediaries before the redevelopment announcement. People who knew what was coming bought low and sold high.”
“Graham?”
Nathan didn't answer.
“Who else?”
“Adrian, you need to leave.”
Adrian stepped toward him.
“Were you one of them?”
Nathan laughed without humor.
“I wish.”
“Then what were you?”
“A guy who took an opportunity because he couldn't make rent.”
Nathan sat on the couch.
His voice grew quieter.
“Graham hired me to handle paperwork through a property company. I thought I was helping structure investments. By the time I realized some of those deals were dirty, my name was on everything.”
“And you kept working for him.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because he had proof I'd signed documents I shouldn't have.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Who paid for my wedding?”
Nathan frowned.
“What?”
“The reception. The private island. The flowers Corinne said a sponsor donated.”
Nathan looked down.
Adrian felt sick.
“Nathan.”
“Graham covered some costs.”
“How much?”
“Most of it.”
Adrian let out a disbelieving laugh.
“My own CFO helped pay for my wedding, and nobody thought to mention that?”
“Corinne said you'd get upset.”
“You think?”
Nathan rubbed his face.
“You loved her. She thought it would make you happy.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Did she know who I was before the fundraiser?”
Nathan said nothing.
“Was meeting me arranged?”
Nathan's eyes filled with something like shame.
“I'm sorry.”
Adrian stood motionless.
Nathan finally whispered, “Graham said you were lonely. He said Corinne could make you happy, and we'd all get something we needed.”
Adrian stared at the man.
“So my marriage was a business arrangement.”
“It wasn't supposed to become one.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Nathan's voice cracked.
“She wasn't supposed to fall in love with you.”
Adrian said nothing.
Nathan looked toward the window.
“And then she did. That's when everything started going wrong.”
Before Adrian could respond, Nathan's phone rang.
The screen displayed a name Adrian recognized.
Graham Vale.
Nathan stared at it.
Adrian held out his hand.
“Answer.”
Nathan shook his head.
“Adrian, you don't understand.”
The call stopped.
A text appeared.
Tell him nothing about the original agreement.
Adrian read it.
May you like
Then he looked at Nathan.
“What original agreement?”
