Chapter 8 - The Fake Project
Nia remembered Briar Commons vividly.
Marcus had given her photographs of a deteriorating duplex and asked for a renovation concept.
He told her an investor group needed preliminary design work before acquisition.
Nia produced floor plans, finish schedules and two renderings.
She had never visited the building because Marcus claimed the sellers wanted privacy.
She delivered the work.
Her company was paid.
She filed taxes on the income.
Nothing about it had seemed improper.
Now Aaron told her there was no development called Briar Commons.
“What building did I design?”
“We’re trying to identify it.”
Nia opened her archived project folder.
Exterior photographs.
Brick façade.
Three upstairs windows.
Distinctive stone steps.
Her breath stopped.
“No.”
She pulled up public photos of Westhaven.
Same windows.
Same brick.
Same steps.
The images Marcus provided had been cropped tightly to remove the storefront.
Briar Commons was Westhaven.
Nia sat motionless.
He had paid her to secretly redesign the property she had already wanted.
Using money borrowed against Denise’s finances.
Then he had taken those plans and folded them into Carter Ridge’s financing package.
The deception was almost elegant.
Nia hated that.
Aaron said, “I’m going to forward this to Tessa.”
“Please.”
“Don’t contact anyone about the financial details until she advises you.”
Nia looked at the fake invoice.
“I feel like I worked for my own replacement.”
Aaron paused.
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“I do.”
She ended the call.
That afternoon Denise appeared at Imani’s house.
Imani opened the door.
“No.”
“Imani, I need to speak with Nia.”
“No.”
Nia heard them from the dining room.
“Let her in.”
Imani turned.
“You sure?”
Again, the answer was no.
Again, Nia chose yes.
Denise entered carrying a handbag but none of her usual certainty.
She sat opposite Nia.
“I’m sorry.”
Nia waited.
“For which part?”
Denise looked down.
“All of it.”
“That’s broad.”
“I should have told you.”
“When?”
“When I first suspected.”
“December?”
“Yes.”
“So four months was another lie.”
Denise’s eyes closed.
“I was ashamed.”
“Of what?”
“My son.”
“Not enough to stop protecting him.”
“That’s fair.”
Nia had expected denial.
Denise’s agreement irritated her more.
“Did you create Carter Ridge Holdings?”
“Yes.”
“Did you take my plans?”
“I saw the plans Marcus brought.”
“Did you know they were mine?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know I had not approved their use?”
Denise hesitated.
“Yes.”
Nia nodded.
“Did you know Briar Commons was fake?”
Denise looked confused.
“What is Briar Commons?”
Nia studied her face.
For once, Denise seemed genuinely lost.
“Marcus paid my company to design Westhaven under a fake project name.”
Denise’s expression changed.
“He did what?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No.”
Nia believed her.
That was almost worse.
The conspiracy had layers.
Everyone knew something.
Nobody knew everything.
“Why was Westhaven so important?” Nia asked.
Denise opened her handbag.
She removed a worn envelope.
Inside were loan documents.
“My husband left more debt than anyone knew.”
“Arthur?”
Denise nodded.
“He had borrowed against the company. Against the house. Against insurance proceeds. After he died, creditors came.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I told Marcus.”
“Not me.”
Denise looked at her.
“I was embarrassed.”
“There’s that word again.”
“I had spent years being the woman who counseled other families. I couldn’t bear people knowing mine had been held together with loans.”
Nia looked at the papers.
“So Marcus rebuilt the company.”
“He wanted to save his father’s name.”
“And you let him use our money.”
Denise’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I believed he would repay it.”
“You believed you had more right to my household’s money than I had to know where it was going.”
Denise flinched.
“When you say it like that—”
“There is no better way to say it.”
Silence.
Nia pushed the documents back.
“Did Arthur cheat on you?”
Denise’s head snapped up.
Nia had not planned to ask.
But suddenly the question felt inevitable.
Denise’s face answered before her mouth did.
“Yes.”
Nia breathed slowly.
“How many times?”
“I don’t know.”
The answer changed the room.
Nia looked at the woman who had told her a wife fights for her marriage.
Now she understood.
Those words had not been born from strength.
They had been inherited from captivity.
“Did people tell you to stay?”
Denise whispered, “Everybody.”
Nia’s anger did not disappear.
But its shape changed.
“Did anyone ask what staying cost you?”
Denise looked away.
“No.”
Nia nodded.
“Then why were you so determined to make me pay the same price?”
Denise began to cry.
Before she could answer, Nia’s phone buzzed.
A message from Tessa.
Do not sign anything Marcus sends you. We found a document with your electronic signature.
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Her blood went cold.
