\u201cIn whose name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant\u2019s answer had barely left the phone when Marcus held out his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnd the call.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
Grant was still speaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaurel, I can explain why I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
I hung up.<\/p>\n
My fingers felt stiff around the phone.<\/p>\n
Marcus immediately called Detective Patel while I sat frozen in the passenger seat of his car. The police station remained visible through the windshield, ordinary in the pale afternoon light.<\/p>\n
A minute earlier, I had believed Grant had reached the bottom of what he could take from me.<\/p>\n
Then he told me he had pledged my business.<\/p>\n
Not simply talked about it.<\/p>\n
Not merely promised it.<\/p>\n
Signed something.<\/p>\n
In my name.<\/p>\n
Marcus gave Patel the shortest possible version.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer husband has admitted forging or purporting to sign a security agreement involving her business.\u201d<\/p>\n
He listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. She is with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, she did not authorize it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked down at my hands.<\/p>\n
They were shaking.<\/p>\n
Marcus ended the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wants us back inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
Neither of us moved immediately.<\/p>\n
Finally I asked, \u201cCan someone actually take my business because Grant signed something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot automatically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t sound reassuring.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not supposed to be reassuring. It is supposed to be accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe identify what document exists, who received it, what Grant represented, whether anything was filed publicly, and whether anyone tried to perfect a security interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most of the language meant almost nothing to me.<\/p>\n
Marcus saw that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn plain terms,\u201d he said, \u201ca forged agreement does not magically give someone ownership of your company. But if Grant used your identity and business documents, we need to know where those papers went.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd whether Rourke thinks they mean something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
For years, Laurel Bakes had existed in spaces Grant considered too small to respect.<\/p>\n
A corner of our kitchen.<\/p>\n
A laptop spreadsheet.<\/p>\n
A stack of cake boxes.<\/p>\n
A shelf of extracts.<\/p>\n
Invoices filed between household receipts.<\/p>\n
Yet when Grant needed something valuable enough to pledge, suddenly my little business became an asset.<\/p>\n
The irony was so ugly I could barely stand it.<\/p>\n
Back inside, Detective Patel took another recorded statement.<\/p>\n
This one was short.<\/p>\n
She asked exactly what Grant had said.<\/p>\n
I repeated his words carefully.<\/p>\n
No embellishment.<\/p>\n
No assumptions.<\/p>\n
When she asked whether I had ever signed a security agreement involving Laurel Bakes, my answer came instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you ever authorized your husband to pledge the business as collateral?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you ever authorized him to represent himself as having ownership of Laurel Bakes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes he own any share?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it a separate legal entity?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is the registered owner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes he have signing authority?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patel wrote for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then she asked, \u201cWhere are the original formation documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome are with me. Some may still be at the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich ones are missing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d have to check.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus said, \u201cWe can provide an inventory through counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patel nodded.<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid your husband know where you kept copies?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould he access your tax records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElectronic records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPasswords?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI changed most of them after I left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore that?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew the password to our home computer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas your business login saved?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought.<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patel did not react.<\/p>\n
That somehow made it worse.<\/p>\n
She asked, \u201cDid he ever have a reason to print or download your registration documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo legitimate reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase came from Marcus earlier, but now it felt natural.<\/p>\n
No legitimate reason.<\/p>\n
I was beginning to understand how much language mattered when someone had spent years blurring boundaries.<\/p>\n
Patel closed her folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll work on identifying the document.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a name, potentially a lender, and a set of communications already under review.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRourke.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still won\u2019t say whether he\u2019s the one texting me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until we verify it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
That restraint used to frustrate me.<\/p>\n
Now I respected it.<\/p>\n
Grant made statements too easily.<\/p>\n
The people trying to untangle his damage were careful because facts mattered.<\/p>\n
Patel added, \u201cThere\u2019s another reason the timeline is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat timeline?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the agreement was created.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your husband may have pledged assets before some of the losses he later described as emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
Marcus leaned forward slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you seeing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patel shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going beyond what\u2019s appropriate yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there are dates.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Grant\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
Debt.<\/p>\n
Panic.<\/p>\n
Attempts to recover.<\/p>\n
One terrible decision followed by another.<\/p>\n
If the agreement came earlier than he claimed, that story weakened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat date?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Patel looked at Marcus.<\/p>\n
He did not object.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreliminary metadata from a copy we recovered suggests the document was created about fourteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
Fourteen months.<\/p>\n
Not five.<\/p>\n
Not after the private debt supposedly became impossible.<\/p>\n
Fourteen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was before the refinance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Miles lent him money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore he told anyone he was in serious trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as we know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he had already decided my business could be used as collateral long before he was desperate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patel answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know the document may date earlier than the timeline your husband gave you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
Outside again, Marcus said, \u201cDo not call him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to.\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave me a look.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou called him ten minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
I got into my car.<\/p>\n
This time I drove directly to Mara\u2019s.<\/p>\n
She had turned the dining room into an evidence station.<\/p>\n
Folders covered one end of the table.<\/p>\n
My business records occupied the other.<\/p>\n
A legal pad sat between them with headings in Mara\u2019s neat handwriting.<\/p>\n
KNOWN.<\/p>\n
CLAIMED.<\/p>\n
NEEDS PROOF.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made categories?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost hugged her.<\/p>\n
Instead, I sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe document might be fourteen months old.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara stopped writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I told her.<\/p>\n
She leaned back slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat destroys his whole explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Laurel. He kept saying everything spiraled recently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said two years of gambling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but he described the forgeries and borrowing like they happened after things got bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara tapped the pen against the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he pledged your business fourteen months ago, what was happening then?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the date.<\/p>\n
October.<\/p>\n
Fourteen months earlier.<\/p>\n
I tried to reconstruct the month.<\/p>\n
A wedding rush.<\/p>\n
Two corporate orders.<\/p>\n
Grant attending some conference.<\/p>\n
My birthday.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe renovated the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe countertops?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the commercial sink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant paid for that, didn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n
I had believed so.<\/p>\n
He had insisted.<\/p>\n
Called it an investment in my business.<\/p>\n
Told me he wanted to support me.<\/p>\n
My stomach twisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
We found the invoices.<\/p>\n
Counters.<\/p>\n
Sink.<\/p>\n
Electrical work.<\/p>\n
Storage cabinets.<\/p>\n
Total: just under seventeen thousand.<\/p>\n
The payment method showed a card ending in 8841.<\/p>\n
I did not recognize it.<\/p>\n
Mara said, \u201cCould be his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
We searched old statements.<\/p>\n
Not joint.<\/p>\n
Not my business card.<\/p>\n
Not my personal one.<\/p>\n
Unknown.<\/p>\n
I called Evelyn.<\/p>\n
She had me send the invoice and card number.<\/p>\n
An hour later she called back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat card belongs to an account your husband opened through a business-credit product.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn whose business?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaurel Bakes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shut my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I sign?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re obtaining the application.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much is owed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrent balance is approximately thirty-one thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened my eyes.<\/p>\n
Mara was watching.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother thirty-one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn top of the nineteen-thousand card and twenty-five-thousand loan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed once.<\/p>\n
It sounded terrible.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my credit report missed this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBusiness credit can report differently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas I a guarantor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what we\u2019re determining.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the kitchen invoice.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he use this card to pay for the renovation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLooks likely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he borrowed money in my business\u2019s name to make improvements, then presented it as him supporting me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word hurt.<\/p>\n
I remembered Grant standing in the kitchen after the sink was installed.<\/p>\n
He had put both hands on my shoulders.<\/p>\n
Now you can take bigger orders.<\/p>\n
I had kissed him.<\/p>\n
Thanked him.<\/p>\n
Made his favorite dinner.<\/p>\n
The memory felt poisonous.<\/p>\n
Evelyn said, \u201cLaurel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need your business records from that period.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd emails.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything showing whether Grant discussed financing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the call, I found the photos from the renovation.<\/p>\n
Grant grinning beside the new sink.<\/p>\n
Me holding a ribbon like we were opening a bakery.<\/p>\n
A caption I had posted online:<\/p>\n
Couldn\u2019t do this without my husband believing in me.<\/p>\n
I deleted nothing.<\/p>\n
I simply stared.<\/p>\n
Mara sat beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou meant it when you wrote that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make you foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes me wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. It means he let you believe something false.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed the photo.<\/p>\n
The distinction mattered intellectually.<\/p>\n
Emotionally, it did not yet help.<\/p>\n
That evening, Denise came over carrying soup.<\/p>\n
No one had asked her.<\/p>\n
She said, \u201cPeople in crisis still need dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase almost made me cry.<\/p>\n
We ate at Mara\u2019s small table.<\/p>\n
Afterward, Denise asked to see the timeline.<\/p>\n
I showed her.<\/p>\n
She studied the dates.<\/p>\n
\u201cOctober.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant asked me for money that September.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFifteen thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
My fork stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you give it to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said it was for an investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat investment?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he say Laurel knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise\u2019s eyes closed briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told you I knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said you both were considering something and wanted to move quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you ask me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he told me it was supposed to be a surprise if it worked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words came easier than I expected.<\/p>\n
She had believed her son.<\/p>\n
I understood that mistake better than anyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ask anyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich uncle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPatrick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Patrick give him money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise pulled out her phone.<\/p>\n
She called him immediately.<\/p>\n
Patrick answered on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Denise said. \u201cI need you to answer something.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grant borrow money from you last year?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then: \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I\u2019m asking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cTen grand.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach sank.<\/p>\n
Denise closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say it was for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA business opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose business?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaurel\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became completely still.<\/p>\n
I whispered, \u201cAsk when.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise did.<\/p>\n
\u201cOctober.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara looked at me.<\/p>\n
The same month.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
The room felt too small.<\/p>\n
Grant had borrowed ten thousand dollars from his uncle using my business as justification.<\/p>\n
He had opened credit in its name.<\/p>\n
He had created a security agreement.<\/p>\n
This was not an improvised response to later debt.<\/p>\n
He had been using Laurel Bakes as financial cover for over a year.<\/p>\n
Patrick was still talking.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said they were expanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe showed me projections.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat projections?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cRevenue numbers. Catering expansion. Maybe a storefront.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
I had never created projections for a storefront.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still have them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably in email.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSend them to Denise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise looked at me.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
She answered, \u201cWe\u2019re finding out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick sent the file ten minutes later.<\/p>\n
It was a PDF bearing the Laurel Bakes logo.<\/p>\n
My logo.<\/p>\n
My fonts.<\/p>\n
My business address.<\/p>\n
Projected annual revenue: $480,000.<\/p>\n
Actual revenue that year had been less than a quarter of that.<\/p>\n
Below the projections was my name.<\/p>\n
Managing Owner.<\/p>\n
And beside it:<\/p>\n
Grant Monroe, Financial Director.<\/p>\n
I stared at the title.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave himself a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara\u2019s voice was flat.<\/p>\n
I kept reading.<\/p>\n
The document described a planned retail expansion.<\/p>\n
Equipment financing.<\/p>\n
A commercial lease.<\/p>\n
Working capital.<\/p>\n
None of it existed.<\/p>\n
On the final page was another signature.<\/p>\n
Mine.<\/p>\n
Forged.<\/p>\n
Denise covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
I did not cry.<\/p>\n
Something colder had replaced tears.<\/p>\n
I called Evelyn.<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I told her.<\/p>\n
She interrupted only once.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did the uncle receive the document?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOctober.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matches.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSend it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cLaurel, there\u2019s something you need to prepare for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Grant used fabricated business documents to obtain private loans, the scope is larger than one forged security agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much larger?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won\u2019t know until we identify everyone he approached.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the fake projections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if there are other people?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere probably are.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was gentle.<\/p>\n
That made it worse.<\/p>\n
I thought of every barbecue, birthday, holiday, work event.<\/p>\n
Every person who had asked how the baking business was doing.<\/p>\n
Every time Grant had answered for me.<\/p>\n
Growing fast.<\/p>\n
She can barely keep up.<\/p>\n
Maybe we\u2019ll open a place someday.<\/p>\n
I had thought it was pride.<\/p>\n
Now I wondered which conversations were sales pitches.<\/p>\n
At ten that night, Patrick called again.<\/p>\n
This time I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaurel, I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have called you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Grant was handling the finances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course there is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he borrowed the ten, he wasn\u2019t alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA man from his office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDerek?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Derek say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the expansion was real.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gripped the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he had investors ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat investors?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he name them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA man named Rourke.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the fake business plan on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Grant say Rourke was?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick\u2019s answer came slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn whose name?\u201d \u201cYours.\u201d Grant\u2019s answer had barely left the phone when Marcus held out his hand. \u201cEnd the call.\u201d I stared at him. Grant was still speaking. \u201cLaurel, I … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7464"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7503,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7464\/revisions\/7503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}