Part 4

Maya agreed to meet us in a café near Marisol's office. I expected an apology, perhaps another excuse. Instead she brought a folder, a laptop, and an expression I recognized from the hotel: the moment when a lie stopped being comfortable.

“He said you were already divorced,” she told me. “I believed him. I should have asked more questions.”

I accepted that she was sorry without pretending the affair hurt less. Then we opened the folder. Victor had sent Maya a list of projected renovation costs for my building. The largest expense was a consulting payment to a firm called Alder Grove.

Maya pointed to the invoice. “I questioned this. He said it was a condition of the sale.”

Marisol checked the firm. Alder Grove shared an office address with James's company. The invoice was for work no tenant had seen anyone perform.

If the deal had closed, Northline could have purchased my building cheaply and charged it for work that may never have existed. The money would have moved through companies connected to Victor's family.

“I won't sign anything else for him,” Maya said.

“Keep your records,” Marisol replied. “And get your own legal advice.”

Victor arrived before we left. He stood outside the café window, looking from Maya to me. Then he held up his phone. It was playing a video. I could see the hotel doorway and myself stepping toward him.

He had recorded our confrontation.