Chapter 5 - The Cousin Who Needed Money
Daniel met Andrew at a twenty-four-hour diner three miles from his house.
It was 2:17 in the morning.
Daniel chose a public place deliberately.
Andrew arrived wearing the same dinner jacket, wine stain still visible near the cuff. He slid into the booth and immediately looked toward the windows.
“You followed?” Daniel asked.
“No.”
“You sound unsure.”
“I’m unsure about everything tonight.”
Daniel placed a copy of the Briar Lake guarantee on the table.
Andrew stared at it.
“Where did you get that?”
“My own filing cabinet.”
“You signed it?”
“Apparently.”
Andrew closed his eyes.
Daniel wanted to hit him.
Instead he said, “Tell me who robbed the safe.”
“I said I know who did. That isn’t exactly true.”
“Then stop talking in riddles.”
Andrew leaned forward.
“Martin has been terrified for two weeks.”
“How would you know?”
“Because I owe him money.”
Daniel laughed.
Of course.
“How much?”
“Personally? Four hundred thousand.”
“And Briar Lake?”
Andrew looked ashamed.
“More.”
Daniel waited.
“Seven point eight million.”
The number settled like lead between them.
“You told Evelyn it was a hotel redevelopment.”
“It was supposed to be.”
“Supposed to?”
“We bought the old Harrington Hotel in Wilmington. Historic tax credits, waterfront district, city incentives. On paper it was good.”
“What happened?”
“Construction costs exploded. Then our lender pulled out after an environmental report.”
“And instead of telling investors?”
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
“I kept it alive.”
“With money from
