Chapter 10 - Bryce’s Exit PlanThe bracelet changed Mara.
Until then, guilt had controlled her.
She answered questions.
She apologized.
She accepted Celine’s anger.
But seeing the jewelry Bryce claimed she had stolen turned guilt into fear.
“He was going to say I robbed you.”
Celine said nothing.
“He told me we were leaving together.”
“When?”
“After the loan closed.”
“To where?”
“Arizona. He said he had a friend with property there.”
Julian shook his head.
“Did you see tickets?”
“No.”
“Reservations?”
“No.”
“An address?”
Mara went quiet.
Celine almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
“What exactly did you have?” she asked.
Mara looked at her.
“His word.”
Celine understood that answer too well.
Robert continued examining the documents.
By evening he found Bryce’s exit plan.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
A rental agreement for a furnished condominium in Scottsdale.
Six months.
Start date: next Monday.
Tenant: Bryce.
Only Bryce.
Mara’s name appeared nowhere.
Mara stared at the page.
“No.”
Robert turned the laptop.
“It was paid three weeks ago.”
“Maybe he was adding me later.”
Nobody answered.
Mara’s face broke.
Celine watched another woman discover what Bryce’s promises were worth.
It did not feel satisfying.
It felt repetitive.
Robert found another transaction.
A wire reservation with an international transfer service.
$380,000 scheduled to move from Bryce’s newly created LLC after the expected loan funding.
Destination: an account in the Cayman Islands.
Hannah frowned.
“That doesn’t automatically mean anything illegal, but the timing matters.”
Robert nodded.
“Also, the consulting LLC’s registered address is a mailbox.”
Julian asked, “Was Bryce planning to disappear?”
“Maybe,” Hannah said.
Mara whispered, “Without me.”
Celine looked at her.
“Probably.”
Mara began crying again.
This time Celine did not comfort her.
Pain did not erase responsibility.
Bryce had manipulated Mara.
Mara had still chosen to betray Celine for months.
Both could be true.
Hannah’s phone rang.
It was Detective Lena Ortiz from the county financial crimes unit.
Atlas Crest had filed a suspected fraud report after receiving notice that the property owner denied authorizing the loan.
Hannah had also contacted law enforcement regarding the false notarial acknowledgment.
Detective Ortiz arrived the next morning.
She was calm, direct, and unimpressed by drama.
She separated the witnesses.
Celine spoke first.
For ninety minutes she described the previous forty-eight hours.
The wardrobe.
The affair.
The blue folder.
The loan.
The fake acknowledgment.
The emails.
The bracelet.
Detective Ortiz never reacted visibly.
When Celine finished, she asked one question.
“Why did you return early?”
“My final meeting was canceled.”
“Did Bryce know?”
“No.”
“When was he supposed to learn you were coming home?”
“When I landed Thursday.”
“Which is today.”
“Yes.”
“And closing was scheduled Friday.”
“Yes.”
Ortiz wrote something down.
“Your early return may have interrupted their timeline.”
Celine glanced toward Biscuit, lying beside her chair.
“If he hadn’t barked, I might not have found Mara.”
“Would you have opened the wardrobe?”
“No.”
“Would you have learned about the papers?”
“No.”
Celine looked down at the dog.
Everything had depended on a familiar scent.
Ortiz interviewed Mara next.
The session lasted longer.
When Mara emerged, her face was gray.
“What did she ask you?” Celine said.
“Everything.”
“Did you tell her everything?”
Mara nodded.
“Yes.”
“Even what makes you look bad?”
“Yes.”
That mattered.
Not enough for forgiveness.
But it mattered.
Then Ortiz interviewed Julian and Hannah about the historical documents.
At four, she asked to speak to Celine privately.
“There are two parallel issues,” she said. “The attempted property fraud and the broader financial conduct.”
“What happens now?”
“We gather records. We verify documents. We interview involved parties.”
“Bryce?”
“Yes.”
“Nolan?”
“Yes.”
“Elise?”
“Yes.”
“Can they be arrested?”
“Not because you want them arrested.”
Celine felt embarrassed.
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant. I’m telling you the standard.”
Ortiz leaned back.
“We need probable cause tied to specific offenses. Some conduct may be civil. Some may be criminal. A false notarization, identity fraud, attempted fraudulent loan, fabricated documents—those can be serious. But we build cases from evidence, not outrage.”
Celine nodded.
“What should I do?”
“Follow your attorney’s advice. Preserve everything. Don’t bait anyone into incriminating themselves. Don’t post online. Don’t confront people alone.”
“Bryce keeps contacting me.”
“Save it.”
Celine hesitated.
“Do you think he targeted me before we met?”
Ortiz looked at her carefully.
“That is not a conclusion I can give you.”
“But the property research—”
“May matter. May not. We verify.”
Again.
Precision.
Celine was learning to tolerate uncertainty without filling it with Bryce’s explanations.
Ortiz stood.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“We found Elise Barrett.”
Celine’s pulse quickened.
“She agreed to talk?”
“She already did.”
“And?”
Ortiz’s expression remained unreadable.
“She says she never met you.”
Celine felt relief.
Then Ortiz continued.
“But she also says Bryce never asked her to pretend she did.”
“Then who did?”
“Elise claims Nolan gave her the acknowledgment already completed and paid her five thousand dollars to apply her seal.”
Celine stared.
“So she admits it?”
“She admits misconduct. Her lawyer will characterize it differently.”
“What does she say Bryce knew?”
Ortiz closed her notebook.
“That’s where this gets interesting.”
Celine waited.
“Elise says Bryce called her afterward.”
“About what?”
“To complain that Nolan had dated the document incorrectly.”
Celine remembered Mara’s account.
“So Bryce knew.”
“Possibly.”
“What did Elise say he wanted?”
May you like
Ortiz looked directly at her.
“He wanted her to destroy the original notary log before you came home.”
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