Chapter 4 - The Box Nolan StoleBrooke called Nolan.
He answered immediately.
“Changed your mind?”
“No.”
He laughed bitterly.
“Then what?”
“I need Dad’s lake-house documents.”
Silence.
Brooke knew instantly.
“Where are they?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You took the box from his office.”
Another silence.
“I was organizing records.”
“You carried it out of the house.”
“I moved it to storage.”
“Where?”
Nolan exhaled.
“You’re really doing this.”
“Where is the box?”
“Brooke, you’re letting lawyers turn a family problem into something else.”
“You forged my signature.”
“I did not.”
“The lake house was transferred into an LLC.”
“That was estate planning.”
“Without me knowing?”
“You knew.”
“No.”
“You signed.”
“I didn’t.”
Nolan’s voice hardened.
“You don’t remember half the paperwork you signed after your father died.”
The sentence landed.
Because he was partly right.
Brooke had been shattered after William’s death.
For months Nolan brought documents to her.
Insurance.
Taxes.
Maintenance.
She signed where he pointed.
Could she have signed the LLC transfer unknowingly?
Maybe.
The possibility frightened her more than forgery.
“Why did you borrow $312,000?”
Nolan went quiet.
“You found the loan.”
“Yes.”
“I can explain.”
“Then explain.”
“It was for an investment.”
“What investment?”
“A development project.”
“Where?”
“Maryland.”
“With whom?”
He hesitated.
Brooke caught it.
“Who, Nolan?”
“Victor Kane.”
The name meant nothing to her.
Claire searched immediately.
Victor Kane operated several small real-estate companies.
Two had gone bankrupt.
One was facing lawsuits.
Brooke felt cold.
“How much of the three hundred twelve thousand went to him?”
“Most.”
“How much is left?”
“We’re waiting on a refinance.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Brooke.”
“How much is left?”
Nolan shouted:
“I DON’T KNOW!”
Brooke pulled the phone away.
Then he lowered his voice.
“I’m sorry.”
Brooke looked through the glass doors toward the backyard.
Ethan was sitting outside alone.
He had placed the broken pieces of his piggy bank on a towel.
Trying to fit them together.
Brooke’s chest tightened.
“Nolan, where is Dad’s box?”
“I’ll bring it.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“No. Give it to Claire’s office.”
“I’m not dealing with your lawyer.”
“Then I’ll get a subpoena.”
Silence.
Nolan laughed once.
“You’ve changed.”
Brooke stared at Ethan.
“No.”
She spoke quietly.
“I stopped waiting for you to.”
She ended the call.
The forensic accountant, Marcus Bell, arrived that afternoon.
Within three hours, he found something worse than the lake-house loan.
The $312,000 had not all gone to Victor.
Ninety thousand went into an account held by Nolan.
Then $46,000 moved from that account to an entity called Northstar Wellness Consulting.
“What is Northstar?” Brooke asked.
Marcus searched.
“Registered six months ago.”
“To whom?”
He turned his laptop.
Brooke stared at the name.
Sabrina Cole.
She recognized it.
Sabrina had been Nolan’s “recovery coach.”
A woman Nolan claimed had helped arrange outpatient treatment.
Brooke remembered Sabrina coming to the mansion.
Calm voice.
Professional clothing.
She assured Brooke Nolan was improving.
“He’s engaging with the recovery process.”
“He needs patience.”
“Relapses happen.”
Brooke had trusted her.
Marcus continued.
“Northstar received at least seventy-eight thousand dollars from accounts connected to Nolan in the last six months.”
Brooke’s face hardened.
“For treatment?”
“Maybe.”
“How much does a recovery coach charge?”
“Not usually seventy-eight thousand.”
Claire looked at Brooke.
“Do you think they’re having an affair?”
Brooke shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
And strangely, that possibility did not frighten her most.
The money did.
Because if Sabrina had helped Nolan hide his addiction while receiving tens of thousands from him, Brooke was no longer looking at one sick husband making desperate decisions.
She might be looking at someone helping him make them.
At 6:40 p.m., a courier arrived.
One cardboard file box.
William’s handwriting on the side.
Brooke opened it.
Most of the original lake-property documents were there.
One folder was missing.
The trust amendment naming Ethan as the future beneficiary.
May you like
And tucked beneath the remaining papers was a handwritten note from Nolan.
You should have left this alone.
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