Chapter 16 - THOMAS TALKS
Thomas Bell chose a law office two counties away.
Neutral territory.
He brought three attorneys.
And fourteen boxes.
That was encouraging.
He looked older than his photograph.
Tired.
Nervous.
No swagger.
I didn’t attend the first two hours.
Elena did.
When she called me in, Thomas wouldn’t look at me.
“Ms. Vance.”
“Thomas.”
He folded his hands.
“I want to clarify that I never intended residents to lose money.”
I sat.
“Daniel Cho lost five thousand dollars.”
“That was Richard.”
“Your company took it.”
“I didn’t authorize that program.”
“Brenda gave your company fifty thousand.”
“She was an investor.”
“Richard?”
“Investor.”
“Emma?”
“Investor.”
“Martin?”
“Future interest.”
“Catherine?”
Thomas finally looked at me.
“Controller.”
There it was.
The word we needed.
“Explain.”
“She financed everything.”
“Did she own the company?”
“Not on paper.”
“In reality?”
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why hide it?”
“Conflict concerns.”
“What conflicts?”
“Meridian was simultaneously advising funds that owned interests in Vance.”
Elena looked up.
That could matter.
“Anything else?”
Thomas swallowed.
“Catherine didn’t want her name connected if the Oakridge strategy failed.”
“Smart.”
He flinched at my tone.
“Did she instruct Richard to impose unauthorized fees?”
“No.”
Disappointing.
Then:
“She told him to make Oakridge difficult.”
“Exact words?”
“Create friction.”
“Did that include fines?”
“She didn’t specify.”
“Did she know what he was doing?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I told her.”
“When?”
“Multiple times.”
“Response?”
“She said Richard understood his assignment.”
Elena wrote rapidly.
“Did Catherine know residents were being offered fake purchase rights?”
Thomas shook his head.
“I don’t think so.”
Useful distinction.
I didn’t want evidence shaped to fit a story.
I wanted the truth, even when parts helped Catherine.
“What did she know?”
“The goal was to lower confidence.”
“In Oakridge?”
“In Vance management.”
There it was.
Thomas continued.
“She believed if three or four visible assets produced problems at the same time, shareholders would become nervous.”
Nevada.
Arizona.
Georgia.
Our pattern.
“Were those coordinated?”
“Some.”
“Which?”
He listed two.
Not all.
Again, truth had uneven edges.
Good.
“How did you meet Catherine?”
“Martin introduced us.”
“And Richard?”
“I knew him from another property.”
“Did you operate similar schemes elsewhere?”
His lawyer interrupted.
Thomas answered anyway.
“We pursued acquisitions.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
His eyes dropped.
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Four.”
“Using HOA pressure?”
“Two.”
“Resident fees?”
“That was Richard.”
Always Richard.
Convenient.
Then Thomas said something important.
“But Catherine didn’t start this.”
I leaned forward.
“What?”
“Richard and I were doing deals before Meridian.”
“How?”
“We identified distressed associations.”
“Created distress?”
“Sometimes.”
Elena stared at him.
Thomas swallowed.
“Catherine scaled it.”
There was the truth.
Catherine had not invented Richard.
She had weaponized him.
That distinction mattered.
“Why are you talking now?”
He laughed bitterly.
“Because she closed the fund account.”
“What?”
“The capital vehicle funding us is frozen.”
“She cut you off.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“She sent a letter claiming we exceeded authority.”
Elena smiled.
“She’s distancing herself.”
Thomas nodded.
“She’ll blame us for everything.”
“Will she be right?”
“About some of it.”
Again.
Useful honesty.
Then he handed Elena a phone.
Old.
Cracked screen.
“What is this?”
“Project phone.”
“Whose?”
“Mine.”
“Messages with Catherine?”
“Yes.”
Elena’s expression changed.
“How many?”
“Hundreds.”
I almost felt the room exhale.
Text messages are dangerous because people become casual.
Catherine had been careful in email.
Maybe less careful here.
The first useful message was four months old.
CATHERINE:
RICHARD IS TOO VISIBLE.
THOMAS:
HE GETS RESULTS.
CATHERINE:
HE CREATES LIABILITY.
Another.
CATHERINE:
MARTIN NEEDS TO MAKE THE NEXT REPORT LOOK ORGANIC.
Another.
THOMAS:
RESIDENT COMPLAINTS ARE UP 41%.
CATHERINE:
GOOD. KEEP PRESSURE ON UNTIL MAYA RECONSIDERS.
Then the one that mattered most.
THOMAS:
RICHARD IS USING COMPLIANCE FEES TO FUND HIS EQUITY.
CATHERINE:
I DON’T WANT DETAILS.
THOMAS:
THAT’S A PROBLEM.
CATHERINE:
THEN SOLVE IT WITHOUT PUTTING IT IN WRITING.
Silence.
Not a direct instruction to take money.
But knowledge.
And deliberate avoidance.
Enough to destroy her claim of ignorance.
I looked at Thomas.
“Why keep this phone?”
He smiled faintly.
“Because Catherine keeps insurance on everybody.”
He looked at me.
“So I kept insurance on her.”
Everyone wanted protection.
Nobody trusted anyone.
Catherine’s alliance had been dead long before we discovered it.
The final message on the phone was sent the morning I arrived at Oakridge.
THOMAS:
MAYA IS AT THE PROPERTY.
CATHERINE:
WHAT?
THOMAS:
SHE SHOWED UP WITHOUT NOTICE.
CATHERINE:
GET RICHARD AWAY FROM HER NOW.
Then:
THOMAS:
TOO LATE.
POLICE ARE THERE.
Catherine’s response:
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.
For the first time since this started, I laughed.
May you like
Not because any of it was funny.
Because the moment Richard believed he had won beside my Rolls-Royce had actually been the exact moment Catherine realized she was losing everything.
