Part 6

The title company suspended the closing once Marisol sent my written objection. They also agreed to preserve the application and the electronic record showing who had submitted it. The building was safe for the moment, but Victor still controlled several accounts linked to its maintenance.

I met the tenants that evening in the ground-floor bakery. Mrs. Patel, who had run her shop there for twenty years, held a notice Victor had circulated announcing a new owner. He had dated it for the following Monday.

“He said you wanted us out,” she told me.

“I never said that.”

I promised nothing would change without proper notice and a conversation. Then I called the bank with Marisol beside me and followed its process for disputing the unauthorized documents. We did not accuse anyone in public while the records were being reviewed.

Maya forwarded a message Victor had sent the buyer: Anna will sign whatever I put in front of her. She still thinks I handle the hard parts.

I read it twice. He had mistaken my trust for ignorance. My mother had taught me every lease and every repair account, but I had let Victor manage some of them because I believed we were partners.

That evening, an independent accountant found a transfer from the maintenance reserve to an account connected to Alder Grove. The bank was investigating whether it had been authorized.

I called Victor once. “Come to Marisol's office tomorrow. Bring your records.”

“Are you trying to destroy me?” he asked.

“I'm trying to find out what happened to my money.”