Chapter 5
Uncle Leon arrived at my office twenty minutes after I called him.
Too quickly.
I hadn't told him what the emergency was.
Only that I needed to talk.
He walked in wearing a tan suit and the same warm smile he had used at family dinners my entire life.
"Nia."
He opened his arms.
I didn't move.
His smile weakened.
"What's wrong?"
Marcus stood near the window.
Detective Carter listened from the conference room next door through a live audio feed.
Leon didn't know.
I pointed toward the chair.
"Sit."
He stared at me.
"You sound serious."
"I am."
He sat.
I stayed standing.
"When did you last speak to Trevor Lane?"
His face barely changed.
Barely.
"Your attorney?"
"Yes."
"Maybe last month."
"About what?"
"I don't remember."
I watched him.
"You should."
He smiled nervously.
"Nia, what is this?"
"Trevor says you're involved in fraudulent transfers of my properties."
Silence.
Leon stared at me.
Then he laughed.
It was convincing.
Almost.
"That is absurd."
"Is it?"
"Completely."
"Why would he name you?"
"I don't know."
"He admitted forging my signature."
Leon shook his head.
"Then he's trying to save himself."
Possible.
But something in Leon's eyes told me otherwise.
I sat across from him.
"Did you hire Vanessa?"
"No."
"Did you pay Malcolm?"
"No."
"Did you create VCR Holdings?"
"No."
That answer mattered.
I hadn't told him VCR Holdings was involved.
I felt my pulse pound.
Marcus noticed too.
I leaned back.
"What is VCR Holdings?"
Leon froze.
Only for a second.
Then he said,
"You just mentioned it."
"No."
His face changed.
I kept my voice quiet.
"I never said that name."
He looked toward Marcus.
Marcus didn't move.
Leon suddenly smiled.
"Maybe Trevor mentioned it."
"You said you haven't spoken to Trevor in a month."
Silence.
The room seemed to tighten around us.
I looked at the man I had called Uncle Leon since childhood.
My father had trusted him.
When Dad died, Leon stood beside me at the funeral and promised,
"You still have family."
Now I wondered what that promise had meant.
"Why?"
I asked.
He exhaled slowly.
"You really want the truth?"
"Yes."
His expression changed.
The warmth disappeared.
"Your father stole from me."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"Everything you have began with something that belonged to me."
I almost laughed.
"My company didn't exist until four years after Dad died."
"The seed money did."
I frowned.
Leon leaned forward.
"Your father and I bought property together twenty-six years ago."
"I know."
"No."
His voice hardened.
"You know his version."
I said nothing.
He continued.
"We bought a small warehouse."
"Then another."
"Then land."
"We were partners."
"I know."
"But when we split, Raymond kept the valuable assets."
Raymond.
My father.
"He didn't steal them."
Leon smiled bitterly.
"That's what he told you."
"He bought you out."
"For almost nothing."
"You signed the agreement."
His eyes flashed.
"I was desperate."
"That doesn't make it theft."
"You sound exactly like him."
The insult hurt more than it should have.
I stood.
"So you tried to take my properties?"
"I tried to recover what should have stayed in the family."
"They are in the family."
His face twisted.
"You think because your name is on the deed, you're the family?"
I stared at him.
There it was.
Something deeper.
Something ugly.
"You don't think I deserve what I built."
He laughed.
"You built?"
I felt my jaw tighten.
"You had a head start worth millions."
"I inherited one building."
"And sold it."
"Yes."
"Then used that money."
"To build a company."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Same thing."
"No."
I stepped closer.
"You want it to be the same because then you don't have to admit what you did."
His smile disappeared.
I placed the documents on the table.
"Forged signatures."
"Bribery."
"Fraud."
"Public humiliation."
His eyes narrowed.
"Vanessa went too far."
That was the second admission.
"You told her to remove me?"
"No."
"But you knew."
He said nothing.
I suddenly understood.
The party wasn't just about money.
Vanessa needed me embarrassed.
Discredited.
Made to look like an outsider at my own property.
Why?
"So people would believe I wasn't really in control."
Leon stared at me.
I continued.
"That's why she blocked me publicly."
He remained silent.
"You wanted witnesses."
Marcus stepped forward.
"If Nia looked confused about ownership, the transfers would seem less suspicious later."
Leon looked at him.
"You should stay out of family business."
Marcus smiled without warmth.
"You made it criminal business."
Leon stood.
"I'm leaving."
I didn't stop him.
Detective Carter entered.
Leon froze.
She showed her badge.
"Mr. Grant, we'd like you to answer some questions."
His face changed completely.
"You recorded me?"
I looked at him.
"You came into my office and lied."
His eyes hardened.
"You always were your father's daughter."
"Thank you."
That angered him.
As police escorted him into the conference room, my phone buzzed.
A message from Trevor.
One attachment.
I opened it.
A scanned agreement.
At the top:
VCR HOLDINGS OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE.
Three partners.
Trevor Lane — 20%.
Vanessa Cole — 30%.
Leon Grant — 50%.
Marcus read over my shoulder.
"That's enough."
I shook my head.
"No."
He looked at me.
"What?"
"It's enough to prove ownership."
"But not everything."
I scrolled farther.
A second page appeared.
A payment schedule.
Beside Vanessa's name was a bonus.
$500,000 upon successful transfer of Nia Carter's controlling assets.
Then another line.
Public reputation strategy.
Marcus frowned.
"What does that mean?"
I kept scrolling.
Attached notes described the charity party.
Exclude Nia.
Question her authority publicly.
Document confrontation.
Create witness record of unstable conduct.
My stomach turned.
They hadn't only planned to steal my properties.
They planned to make me look emotionally unstable if I challenged the transfers.
May you like
Vanessa's humiliation had been part of the fraud.
And if Marcus hadn't walked outside when he did, dozens of guests would have left believing I was some desperate woman trying to force my way into a mansion that wasn't mine.
