{"id":7465,"date":"2026-09-24T18:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T18:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/?p=7465"},"modified":"2026-09-24T18:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T18:37:12","slug":"part-10-laurel-followed-the-fake-expansion-plan-back-to-derek-and-discovered-grant-had-been-selling-a-version-of-her-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/?p=7465","title":{"rendered":"PART 10 \u2013 Laurel Followed the Fake Expansion Plan Back to Derek and Discovered Grant Had Been Selling a Version of Her Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHis partner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patrick\u2019s words transformed the fake business plan from evidence of deception into something more organized.<\/p>\n<p>Rourke was not merely a creditor Grant had turned to when gambling went bad.<\/p>\n<p>At least to Patrick, Grant had presented him as a partner in Laurel Bakes.<\/p>\n<p>I ended the call and immediately wrote the sentence under Mara\u2019s KNOWN column.<\/p>\n<p>Grant told Patrick that Rourke was his partner in the business expansion.<\/p>\n<p>Mara read it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPartner in your business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Rourke know Grant was saying that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause if he did\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The difference mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Grant could have invented Rourke\u2019s role to impress Patrick.<\/p>\n<p>Or the fake expansion could have been part of something both men understood.<\/p>\n<p>I no longer guessed.<\/p>\n<p>I wrote NEEDS PROOF beside it.<\/p>\n<p>That night, I slept three hours.<\/p>\n<p>At six, I was back at the table.<\/p>\n<p>I opened my own business archives.<\/p>\n<p>If Grant had built a fake version of Laurel Bakes, I needed to understand which real pieces he had stolen to construct it.<\/p>\n<p>Logo files.<\/p>\n<p>Revenue statements.<\/p>\n<p>Customer lists.<\/p>\n<p>Photos.<\/p>\n<p>Order forms.<\/p>\n<p>Tax returns.<\/p>\n<p>Equipment invoices.<\/p>\n<p>Grant had lived beside all of it.<\/p>\n<p>Trust had given him access no hacker could have matched.<\/p>\n<p>By eight, I found the first thing I had missed.<\/p>\n<p>A folder in my email called Expansion.<\/p>\n<p>I had not created it.<\/p>\n<p>Inside were six messages forwarded from my account to Grant\u2019s personal email.<\/p>\n<p>Documents attached.<\/p>\n<p>Quarterly sales reports.<\/p>\n<p>Photos of equipment.<\/p>\n<p>A customer-growth spreadsheet.<\/p>\n<p>The forwards dated back sixteen months.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was inside your email.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mara stood behind me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you tell how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I checked account activity.<\/p>\n<p>Most older logs were gone.<\/p>\n<p>But one recovery email remained.<\/p>\n<p>Grant\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>I had set it years ago when we shared devices.<\/p>\n<p>I had forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>He hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>I called Evelyn.<\/p>\n<p>She had me export the emails without altering them.<\/p>\n<p>Then she said, \u201cDo you remember creating the Expansion folder?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not delete it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny messages to outside addresses?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m looking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There were.<\/p>\n<p>One to Derek.<\/p>\n<p>Subject: LB Financials.<\/p>\n<p>No text.<\/p>\n<p>Just attachments.<\/p>\n<p>Another went to an address I did not recognize.<\/p>\n<p>r.capital@protonmail.<\/p>\n<p>I read it aloud.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSend me that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cR?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I forwarded the metadata.<\/p>\n<p>The email had been sent from my account at 1:17 a.m. on a Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>I searched my calendar.<\/p>\n<p>That night I had been delivering desserts for a hospital fundraiser.<\/p>\n<p>I remembered getting home after two.<\/p>\n<p>Grant had been asleep.<\/p>\n<p>Or pretending to be.<\/p>\n<p>Another message, three weeks later:<\/p>\n<p>Latest figures attached. We can support larger volume after equipment upgrade.<\/p>\n<p>No signature.<\/p>\n<p>Sent from my email.<\/p>\n<p>I had not written it.<\/p>\n<p>My skin crawled.<\/p>\n<p>Grant had not merely copied documents.<\/p>\n<p>He had impersonated me.<\/p>\n<p>I found eleven messages.<\/p>\n<p>Some attached real financial data.<\/p>\n<p>Others contained exaggerated projections.<\/p>\n<p>One included a draft lease for a storefront I had never seen.<\/p>\n<p>Address: 214 Mill Street.<\/p>\n<p>Mara searched the address.<\/p>\n<p>A vacant retail unit.<\/p>\n<p>Photos showed exposed brick, a front display window, and an empty commercial kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized it.<\/p>\n<p>Not the place.<\/p>\n<p>The photograph.<\/p>\n<p>Grant had shown it to me once.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if we had a bakery?\u201d he had asked casually.<\/p>\n<p>I remembered laughing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen I\u2019d never sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He had smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019d crush it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had assumed it was a daydream.<\/p>\n<p>Now I opened the fake expansion plan.<\/p>\n<p>214 Mill Street appeared on page three.<\/p>\n<p>I felt sick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was testing the story on me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mara sat beside me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him I didn\u2019t want a storefront.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he know that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why build the plan around one?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he didn\u2019t need my plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was the answer.<\/p>\n<p>He needed a believable business.<\/p>\n<p>Not my consent.<\/p>\n<p>By midmorning, Marcus called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDetective Patel wants to know whether you recognize 214 Mill Street.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did Grant show it to you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year. Maybe September.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore the fake plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked what I thought about opening a bakery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour answer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he discuss financing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you tour it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you authorize negotiations?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word sounded strange.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing about this was good.<\/p>\n<p>But clean facts were useful.<\/p>\n<p>Marcus continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDerek was interviewed again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My spine stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe claims Grant told him you approved the expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe also claims the betting activity was supposed to generate capital for the business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gambled to fund Laurel Bakes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is Derek\u2019s account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt does not need to make sense to be something he said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says Rourke initially believed you were aware of the arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat could explain the texts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe message saying Grant made this my problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Rourke now know I didn\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another NEEDS PROOF.<\/p>\n<p>I was learning to survive inside uncertainty by naming it.<\/p>\n<p>Marcus said, \u201cThere is one more issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGo ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDerek says some investors were shown business documents bearing your signature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many investors?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt least three.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNames?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne is Patrick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne is someone named Helen Cho.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did not know her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the third?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel Pike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The name was familiar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrant\u2019s former manager.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMet him twice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he ever mention investing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marcus paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll need to know whether any of those people transferred funds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the fake plan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much could Grant have raised?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hated the sentence.<\/p>\n<p>But this time I was ready for it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the call, I searched emails for Helen Cho.<\/p>\n<p>Three results.<\/p>\n<p>One was a forwarded restaurant reservation.<\/p>\n<p>Another was a Christmas invitation.<\/p>\n<p>The third stopped me.<\/p>\n<p>From Grant.<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Thanks for meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Laurel is excited too. She\u2019s just nervous about scaling.<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>He had turned my refusal into nervousness.<\/p>\n<p>My silence into approval.<\/p>\n<p>My business into opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>Mara read over my shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was selling a version of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The phrase landed exactly right.<\/p>\n<p>That was what Grant had done.<\/p>\n<p>Not just used my documents.<\/p>\n<p>He had invented a Laurel who wanted what he needed her to want.<\/p>\n<p>A Laurel who approved expansion.<\/p>\n<p>A Laurel who trusted him as financial director.<\/p>\n<p>A Laurel who was ambitious but cautious.<\/p>\n<p>A Laurel whose caution Grant could conveniently interpret for investors.<\/p>\n<p>I opened another archived thread.<\/p>\n<p>Helen replied:<\/p>\n<p>Totally understand. She\u2019s the creative side. You handle numbers. Makes sense.<\/p>\n<p>My stomach twisted.<\/p>\n<p>Grant responded:<\/p>\n<p>Exactly.<\/p>\n<p>One word.<\/p>\n<p>That one hurt.<\/p>\n<p>He had reduced our marriage to a useful fiction.<\/p>\n<p>Creative wife.<\/p>\n<p>Financial husband.<\/p>\n<p>She makes cakes.<\/p>\n<p>He handles serious money.<\/p>\n<p>The same story he used against me in our kitchen had apparently been useful elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>I understood then that his contempt had not begun with the grocery receipt.<\/p>\n<p>That argument was simply the first time I challenged the role he had assigned me.<\/p>\n<p>I called Denise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Grant tell people about my business?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She was quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt family gatherings. When people asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said you were doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes that you wanted to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he say he handled the money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Denise hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI assumed he meant household finances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything about investors?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStorefront?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe mentioned it once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat you were considering one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed without humor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Denise went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI keep remembering things differently now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the call, I searched old family group chats.<\/p>\n<p>Grant had posted photos of my cakes.<\/p>\n<p>Caption:<\/p>\n<p>Big things coming for Laurel Bakes.<\/p>\n<p>Another:<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re looking at our next move.<\/p>\n<p>Another:<\/p>\n<p>Proud of what we\u2019re building.<\/p>\n<p>We.<\/p>\n<p>I had reacted with a heart to that message.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, I thought we meant marriage.<\/p>\n<p>Now I saw how easily he could show that thread to someone else.<\/p>\n<p>Look.<\/p>\n<p>She knows.<\/p>\n<p>She agrees.<\/p>\n<p>She supports the expansion.<\/p>\n<p>My own affection had become evidence he could misrepresent.<\/p>\n<p>At noon, Evelyn sent me copies of the business-credit application.<\/p>\n<p>My forged signature appeared four times.<\/p>\n<p>Projected revenue inflated.<\/p>\n<p>Years in business altered.<\/p>\n<p>Grant listed as CFO.<\/p>\n<p>CFO.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the title.<\/p>\n<p>My company had never had a chief financial officer.<\/p>\n<p>It barely had room for two people in the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>Yet on paper, Grant had built an organization around himself.<\/p>\n<p>Then I reached page nine.<\/p>\n<p>Collateral.<\/p>\n<p>Equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Receivables.<\/p>\n<p>Future revenue.<\/p>\n<p>Business goodwill.<\/p>\n<p>And below them:<\/p>\n<p>Personal guarantee \u2014 Laurel Monroe.<\/p>\n<p>Forged.<\/p>\n<p>A second guarantee appeared beneath it.<\/p>\n<p>Grant Monroe.<\/p>\n<p>That signature was real.<\/p>\n<p>Mara pointed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he tied himself to it too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes that matter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I called Evelyn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt matters,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause it may help show he was the person actually orchestrating the transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan the lender come after me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey may try.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut a forged guarantee is challengeable. We are already notifying them through counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about my equipment?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not sell or transfer anything unnecessarily until we clarify competing claims.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo my business is frozen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot frozen. Be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I take new orders?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I buy supplies?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I use my mixer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLaurel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou still own a business. Do not let Grant\u2019s fraud make you behave as though it already disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>That helped.<\/p>\n<p>That afternoon, I baked.<\/p>\n<p>Mara\u2019s kitchen was smaller.<\/p>\n<p>The oven ran hot.<\/p>\n<p>I had to move a lamp to create enough counter space.<\/p>\n<p>The first batch of cupcakes rose unevenly.<\/p>\n<p>The second came out better.<\/p>\n<p>By the third, my hands remembered what to do.<\/p>\n<p>Butter.<\/p>\n<p>Sugar.<\/p>\n<p>Eggs.<\/p>\n<p>Flour.<\/p>\n<p>Measured things.<\/p>\n<p>Predictable things.<\/p>\n<p>For three hours, nobody was lying.<\/p>\n<p>At five, my phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown number.<\/p>\n<p>I froze.<\/p>\n<p>Mara saw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the number was local, and something made me glance at Marcus\u2019s last message.<\/p>\n<p>He had warned an investor might contact me through counsel.<\/p>\n<p>I let it go to voicemail.<\/p>\n<p>A minute later, the transcript appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Hi, Laurel. My name is Helen Cho. I think we need to talk about the investment Grant asked me to make in your bakery. I just learned you may not know anything about it.<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>Mara read it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We sent it to Evelyn.<\/p>\n<p>She called Helen with me included.<\/p>\n<p>Helen sounded controlled.<\/p>\n<p>Embarrassed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she said immediately. \u201cI believed you were involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Grant tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat you wanted to expand but disliked financial meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That sounded exactly like him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said you preferred he handle investors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never authorized that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much did you give him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Then:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeventy-five thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I gripped the counter.<\/p>\n<p>Mara closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere did you send it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo an account under Laurel Bakes Expansion LLC.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy company is Laurel Bakes LLC.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Helen went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin prickled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is Laurel Bakes Expansion LLC?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI assumed it was your development entity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHelen, do you have formation documents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestment agreement?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBank instructions?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease send them to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I asked, \u201cWho formed the company?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Helen hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe documents list Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My heartbeat quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cManager.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOwner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the wall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t own it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Helen\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho else invested?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt least four of us attended a meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c214 Mill Street.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fake bakery.<\/p>\n<p>The location Grant had once shown me like a casual fantasy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast November.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Rourke there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Helen hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everything in me went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Grant say he was?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Helen answered carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrivate capital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not bookmaker.<\/p>\n<p>Not creditor.<\/p>\n<p>Private capital.<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Then she added, \u201cBut there\u2019s something else you should know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I opened them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrant wasn\u2019t running the meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho was?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRourke.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/?p=7466\">Click here to continue reading: PART 11: The Investor Meeting at the Empty Bakery Showed Rourke Was Never Just Grant\u2019s Creditor and Turned Laurel Into a Witness<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHis partner.\u201d Patrick\u2019s words transformed the fake business plan from evidence of deception into something more organized. Rourke was not merely a creditor Grant had turned to when gambling went &hellip; <\/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-7465","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\/7465","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=7465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7504,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7465\/revisions\/7504"}],"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=7465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}